The White Guard

The Turbins gather in warmth and lamplight. Beyond their apartment, Kyiv is falling into civil war. Discover Mikhail Bulgakov’s classic literary love letter to the city of Kyiv. Drawing closely on Bulgakov’s personal experiences of civil war as a young doctor, The White Guard takes place in Kyiv during the winter of 1918-1919, as the German-backed Hetmanate collapses and rival forces fight for control of the city. At the centre of the novel are the Turbins: Alexei, Elena and Nikolka, siblings trying to preserve their home, loyalty and dignity as the world they know breaks apart. Around them, officers, civilians and political opportunists move through panic, rumour, betrayal and sudden violence. Bulgakov’s first novel is a classic of twentieth-century Russian literature: a literary historical novel about family, civil war, political collapse and the fragility of civilisation. Domestic realism, satire and war chronicle combine in a moving portrait of people trying to remain human amid revolution. 'The tumultuous atmosphere of the Ukrainian revolution and civil war is brilliantly evoked' Daily Telegraph

The Turbins gather in warmth and lamplight. Beyond their apartment, Kyiv is falling into civil war. Discover Mikhail Bulgakov’s classic literary love letter to the city of Kyiv. Drawing closely on Bulgakov’s personal experiences of civil war as a young doctor, The White Guard takes place in Kyiv during the winter of 1918-1919, as the German-backed Hetmanate collapses and rival forces fight for control of the city. At the centre of the novel are the Turbins: Alexei, Elena and Nikolka, siblings trying to preserve their home, loyalty and dignity as the world they know breaks apart. Around them, officers, civilians and political opportunists move through panic, rumour, betrayal and sudden violence. Bulgakov’s first novel is a classic of twentieth-century Russian literature: a literary historical novel about family, civil war, political collapse and the fragility of civilisation. Domestic realism, satire and war chronicle combine in a moving portrait of people trying to remain human amid revolution. 'The tumultuous atmosphere of the Ukrainian revolution and civil war is brilliantly evoked' Daily Telegraph

Kiev - Kyiv - is in chaos. Russia has withdrawn from World War I but the Germans have set up a puppet government in Ukraine. Civil war rages: the Bolsheviks have seized power in Russia, but the anti-revolutionary White Guard who have fled to Ukraine, are rallying to resist. In the meantime, Ukrainian nationalists are camped outside the capital, and a Red army is on its way to bring everyone to heel. While all this is going on, the Turbin family try to eke out their existence in Kyiv and discuss what they should do. They are exactly the sort of family - monarchist intelligentsia - for whom the future looks particularly menacing. Bulgakov's brilliant and evocative prose brings the city and the moment unforgettably to life and sheds some fascinating light on the complex interwoven histories of Ukraine and Russia.

Kiev - Kyiv - is in chaos. Russia has withdrawn from World War I but the Germans have set up a puppet government in Ukraine. Civil war rages: the Bolsheviks have seized power in Russia, but the anti-revolutionary White Guard who have fled to Ukraine, are rallying to resist. In the meantime, Ukrainian nationalists are camped outside the capital, and a Red army is on its way to bring everyone to heel. While all this is going on, the Turbin family try to eke out their existence in Kyiv and discuss what they should do. They are exactly the sort of family - monarchist intelligentsia - for whom the future looks particularly menacing. Bulgakov's brilliant and evocative prose brings the city and the moment unforgettably to life and sheds some fascinating light on the complex interwoven histories of Ukraine and Russia.