The First Distiller

The First Distiller, subtitled How the Imp Earned a Crust (Russian: Первый винокур, или Как чертенок краюшку заслужил), is a play by Leo Tolstoy published in 1886, and translated into English by Aylmer and Louise Maude.[1]

According to academic Andrew Donskov, The First Distiller was an anti-alcohol morality play, based on Tolstoy's short story Promoting a Devil, that drew upon numerous literary themes already present in Russian literature in the 1860s, such as A. F. Pogossky's 1861 story of the same title.[2]

It was first translated into French by the famous Polish translator Téodor de Wyzewa in November 1886.[3]

Text online[edit]

Russian[edit]

English[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "The First Distiller". Good Press. 2019.
  2. ^ Andrew Donskov (1973). "L. N. Tolstoy's Sources for his Play The First-Distiller". Canadian Slavonic Papers / Revue Canadienne des Slavistes. 15 (3). Taylor & Francis, Ltd.: 375–381. doi:10.1080/00085006.1973.11091333. JSTOR 40866595.
  3. ^ Elga Liverman Duval (1961). Téodor de Wyzewa: Critic Without a Country. E. Droz.

Further reading[edit]