First Love by Ivan Turgenev
I was sixteen at the time. It happened in the summer of 1833…
One of Turgenev’s most acclaimed pieces of short fiction, First Love is a lyrical exploration of past love.
At the end of a dinner party, a few lingering guests exchange tales of their first love, leading one guest to recall his own youthful obsession with Zinaida, a beautiful older woman.
Largely autobiographical, like most of Turgenev’s work, the book draws on the author’s own life – his own affair, as a young man, with an older woman, a love that lasted until he discovered that she was his father’s mistress, as well.
Translated by Isaiah Berlin
FORMAT: Paperback
EDITION: Penguin Great Loves; collection of 20 special edition books, issued by Penguin to celebrate love. Also see: ‘Penguin Original Ten’
PUBLICATION DATE: This edition, original translation, 1950
CONDITION: Fair/Good. Cover a bit wavy.
CLASSIFICATION: Fiction/Classics/Russian literature/Romance
2611/AV
Price: £2.20
