Author: Chirikof (Chirikov), E. (Evgenii)
Title: Marka of the Pits
Description: London, Alston Rivers Limited, 1930. First edition in English, no US equivalent, n. d. (1930); 7 1/4 x 5; pp. [4], v-vii, [1], 1-223, [1]; red cloth over boards, printed and ruled in black; pictorial dust jacket; minor rubbing to tips of spine and corners; a few scattered spots of foxing to first and last few leaves; in very good condition. Jacket unclipped, with a price of "7s. 6d. net" at the bottom right corner of the front flap, with chipping and small loss of paper to tips of spine; several pieces of transparent tape to verso; in good to very good condition. In a strikingly-illustrated jacket, though with artist unattributed, this edition would mark the first (and practically the last) appearance of any of Chirikov's works in English. Even more so, as with all works issued by the obscure London publishing house of Alston Rivers, the title would prove to be quite uncommon. Though remaining virtually unknown to English-language readers, Evgenii Chirikov (1864 - 1932) was a prolific author, highly regarded among his Russian contemporaries, including radical writer Nikolai Chernyshevsky and especially Maxim Gorky, with whom he was closely allied. In the early 1900s, Chirikov would gradually distance himself from the Revolutionary Movement, eventually completely breaking away from his past democratic allegiance after the 1917 Revolution. Expelled from Russia, he would continue writing for the Russian market from exile. Marka of the Pits dealt with poverty, prostitution, and sexual depravity among slum-dwellers living along the banks of the Volga River, below the city of Samara. The townspeople would call the settlement "the pits" and its residents - "the monkeys." As with many of Chirikov's other works, the Volga would play a central role in the book, both for its beauty, but also as a destructive force of nature, causing the death of Marka's father, having her mother commit suicide by drowning, and hurling the young woman into a dreadful, inescapable life. Very good .

Keywords: Russia


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