Babel

1926 · réf. 000413 — Moskva/Leningrad: Zemlia i Fabrika 1926. Soft cover. Good. First edition 1 of 8000 copies; 5 1/2" x 7"; pp. 3-78 index to last page; original pictorial wraps; small chips along edges and corners; deckled page edges; a few minor penciled-in notes throughout; good to very good condition. This collection contains 7 of Babel's childhood tales - 'Istoriia Moei Golubiatni' 'Pervaia Liubov' 'Liubka Kozak" 'U Batki Nashego Makhno' 'Shevelev' 'Ty Promorgal Kapitan!' - of which the most famous and influential is "The Story of My Dovecote" an autobiographical story of his witnessing the horrific pogrom of Russian Jews on October 20 1905 - thus giving the title of the book. The story first appeared in the magazine 'Krasnaia Nov' in late 1925. It was dedicated to Maxim Gorky who was the author's best friend and mentor. Babel was accused of being a foreign spy and a Trotskyist terrorist in 1939. Consequently he was arrested and shot to death in January of 1940. His untimely demise has been labeled " a catastrophe for world literature. Moskva/Leningrad: Zemlia i Fabrika paperback books