Books

First edition in Ukrainian. 8vo. Original pictorial card wrappers. Munich, Vidavnitstvi Prometei. The first Ukrainian translation of Animal Farm, including an important new preface by Orwell written especially for this edition, significant as the only introduction to the text that Orwell would ever write. The translation was undertaken by Ihor Sevcenko (1922-2009), 'who wrote to Orwell on 7 March 1947 telling him that he had made a translation in his spare moments in order to read Animal Farm to Ukrainians living in Displaced Persons Camps in Germany. He movingly described the response of these men, former Bolsheviks but later inmates of Siberian prison camps. He wished to publish a Ukrainian edition but thought that, though the book should be capable of being understood without a Preface, a Preface would ensure that there were no misunderstandings. Orwell's concern for those so eager to read Animal Farm led to his specifying that he should receive no royalties from editions for political refugees and those who could not afford to pay royalties. Unfortunately, the Ukrainian edition did not reach the Displaced Persons Organisation. The 5000 copies were intercepted by the American Military Government in Munich and handed over to the Soviet Repatriation Commission. Presumably the copies went the same way as people forcibly repatriated by the Allies to the USSR' (Davison, George Orwell: A Literary Life, p. 124-5). Orwell's preface gives an account of his 'early life, his experiences in the Spanish Civil War, his views on Stalinism and the Soviet regime, and his belief in the importance of the Socialist movement' was later translated back into English for inclusion in Orwell's Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters (Fenwick, George Orwell: A Bibliography, p. 98). An unusually fine copy, faint uniform browning to cheap paper stock as usual.

Animal Farm is an allegorical novella by George Orwell, first published in England on 17 August 1945. The book tells the story of a group of farm animals who revolt against their human farmer, hoping to create a society where animals can be equal, free, and just. However, the revolution is hijacked by the pigs, who become just as oppressive as the humans. Animal Farm is an allegory for the Russian Revolution and the subsequent Soviet Union.