Books

pp. 91. Slim 8vo. Illustrated card covers measuring 15 x 20.5 cm. Black-and-white portrait of Orwell, accompanying the only known preface he penned for this work, wherein, he details his motivations for writing the "fairy story". Exceptionally well-preserved with no evidence of any flaws to the extremities. Contents equally without blemish with firm, sound binding. An exceedingly rare offering of this landmark of post-war Ukrainian printing. While the translator, Shevchenko, "a highly-educated twenty-four-year-old" refugee, and his small press (Prometej, or, Promethius) would secure an initial print-run of 5000 copies, a mere 2000 would ultimately be distributed. Fearing that the small work was anti-Soviet propaganda which could antagonize their Russian counterparts, the remaining 3000 copies would be confiscated by the United States military. As Andrea Chalupa notes in 'Orwell and the Refugees: the Untold Story of Animal Farm', "At the time, Stalin was considered a great ally who had helped defeat Hitler; the Western powers acted as if beholden to him. The Americans handed over the seized copies of Animal Farm to the Soviet authorities. (Russia had outlawed the Ukrainian language years ago, during the time of the czar, and the Soviet regime maintained the ban.) The books were destroyed." Also contains the first appearance of Orwell's, remarkable, and, unprecedented, six-page preface. Written at the urging of the translator, "Orwell s preface to the Ukrainian edition of Animal Farm is a significant document in literary history. It describes the events of his life that shaped a masterpiece of political literature, as well as the outlook we today call "Orwellian." This preface is his deepest discussion of Animal Farm ever published." [Source: Chalupa, A. (2012). Orwell and the Refugees: the Untold Story of Animal Farm]. See also, Fenwick: A.10.T25.

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.