Books

The important first printing of the Ukrainian translation of Orwell's 'Animal Farm', prepared at his own urging and containing the only preface written by Orwell for his novella, an important essay which describes the text's genesis, discussing the author's experiences during the Spanish Civil War and his belief in "the negative influence of the Soviet myth upon the Western Socialist movement." The translation is due to the poet Ihor Shevchenko under the pseudonym Ivan Chernyatynskyi. A Displaced Person (DP) in post-war Germany, Shevchenko managed to find a copy of the recently published novella and contacted Orwell about a possible Ukrainian translation: "In April 1946, Shevchenko wrote to Orwell, now a mourning widower and single parent of an adopted baby, requesting authorisation to publish his Ukrainian translation. He described to Orwell how he had translated the book out loud to a transfixed audience of Ukrainian DPs and they had always been puzzled how the West could be so…

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.