''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
Aylmer Maude (28 March 1858 – 25 August 1938) and Louise Maude (1855–1939) were English translators of Leo Tolstoy's works, and Aylmer Maude also wrote his friend Tolstoy's biography, ''The Life of Tolstoy''. After living many years in Russi ...
.
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.
It was first translated into French by the famous Polish translator
Téodor de Wyzewa
Téodor de Wyzewa, born as Teodor Wyżewski (12 September 1862 – 15 April 1917), was a writer, critic, and translator of Polish descent, born in Kałusik in the Russian sector of Poland near Kamieniec Podolski (Кам'янець-Подільсь ...
in November 1886.
Text online
Russian
Первый винокур, или Как чертенок краюшку выкупал from rvb.ru
English
''The First Distiller: A Comedy in Six Acts'' from RevoltLib.com
from Marxists.org
''The First Distiller'' from TheAnarchistLibrary.org
''The First Distiller'' from Project Gutenberg
References
Further reading
*
Nikolay Leskov
Nikolai Semyonovich Leskov (russian: Никола́й Семёнович Леско́в; – ) was a Russian novelist, short-story writer, playwright, and journalist, who also wrote under the pseudonym M. Stebnitsky. Praised for his unique w ...
заимствован сюжет пьесы графа Л. Н. Толстого «Первый винокур»" In: Лесков Н. С. Собрание сочинений в 11 томах. М.: ГИХЛ, 1957. vol. 11. pp. 132–133.
Plays by Leo Tolstoy
1886 plays
{{1880s-play-stub