''Theatrical Novel'' (''Notes of a Dead Man''), translated as ''Black Snow'' and ''A Dead Man's Memoir'' (russian: Театральный роман (Записки покойника), translit=Teatralnyy roman (Zapiski pokoynika) is an unfinished novel by

Mikhail Bulgakov Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov ( rus, links=no, Михаил Афанасьевич Булгаков, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ɐfɐˈnasʲjɪvʲɪtɕ bʊlˈɡakəf; – 10 March 1940) was a Soviet writer, medical doctor, and playwright active in the fir ...

. Written in first-person, on behalf of a writer Sergei Maksudov, the novel tells of the drama behind-the-scenes of a theatre production and the Soviet writers' world.

Background

In 1929, Bulgakov started working on a novella, written in the form of letters, called ''For Secret Friend'' (also unfinished), addressed to his future wife Elena Bulgakova, which explains how he "became a playwright". In 1930, ''For Secret Friend'' began to develop into a new novel, ''The Theatre'', but in the same year he burned his initial sketches, along with rough drafts of '' The Master and Margarita''. Six years later and several weeks after the final break with

Moscow Art Theatre The Moscow Art Theatre (or MAT; russian: Московский Художественный академический театр (МХАТ), ''Moskovskiy Hudojestvenny Akademicheskiy Teatr'' (МHАТ)) was a theatre company in Moscow. It was f ...

, Bulgakov began writing a novel about the theatre. On the first page of the manuscript, he outlined two titles: ''Notes of a Dead Man'' and ''Theatrical Novel''.''Огрызко В. В.'
Ещё тот спец по Сталину
// Литературная Россия № 44—45 за 4 ноября 2011

Summary

The book satirizes

Konstantin Stanislavski Konstantin Sergeyevich Stanislavski ( Alekseyev; russian: Константин Сергеевич Станиславский, p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin sʲɪrˈgʲejɪvʲɪtɕ stənʲɪˈslafskʲɪj; 7 August 1938) was a seminal Russian Soviet Fe ...

through the character Ivan Vasilievich, whose methods hinder actors' performances, reflecting Bulgakov's frustration with Stanislavski whilst attempting to stage ''

The Cabal of Hypocrites ''The Cabal of Hypocrites'' (russian: Кабала святош, translit=Kabala svyatosh) is a four-act play by Mikhail Bulgakov also known as ''Molière''. Written in 1929 for the Moscow Art Theatre, it was read by Bulgakov for Stanislavski a ...

'' and ''

The Days of the Turbins ''The Days of the Turbins'' (russian: Дни Турбиных, translit=Dni Turbinykh) is a four-act play by Mikhail Bulgakov based upon his novel ''The White Guard''. It was written in 1925 and premiered on 5 October 1926 in Moscow Art Theatr ...

'' (which is mentioned in the novel as ''Black Snow'') in 1930–1936.

English translations

* ''Black Snow: A Theatrical Novel'', translated by

Michael Glenny :''The majority of material in this article has been sourced from the Dictionary of National Biography''. Michael Valentine Guybon Glenny (26 September 1927, London – 1 August 1990, Moscow) was a British lecturer in Russian studies and a tr ...

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...

, 1967. . * ''A Dead Man's Memoir: A Theatrical Novel'', translated by

Andrew Bromfield Andrew Bromfield is a British editor and translator of Russian works. He is a founding editor of the Russian literature journal ''Glas'', and has translated into English works by Boris Akunin, Vladimir Voinovich, Irina Denezhkina, Victor Pelevin, ...

, Penguin Classics , 2007. . * ''Black Snow'', translated by

Roger Cockrell Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ...

, Alma Books , 2014. .

References

{{Authority control Novels by Mikhail Bulgakov Unfinished novels 1967 novels 1936 Russian novels Novels set in the Stalin era Moscow Art Theatre Novels set in Moscow Russian novels adapted into films Works originally published in Novy Mir