Turgenev, Ivan: On the Eve. v1 15 Nov 2017
 

Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (1818-1883) has been described as the first Russian writer known to the Western world, and the only one with a European outlook and sympathies. He went into voluntary exile in 1854.

Constance Garnett (1861-1946) was an English translator whose translations of 70 nineteenth century Russian classics introduced them to the English speaking public.

Edward Garnett (1868-1937) was Constance Garnett's husband, and a writer, critic, and literary editor.

On the Eve was Turgenev's third novel, written in 1860 and translated in 1895. It tells the story of the love of a young Russian woman and a Bulgarian freedom fighter. 'Yes, a youthful, glorious, bold affair. Death, life, conflict, defeat, triumph, love, freedom, country ... Good God, grant as much to all of us!'

The text was taken from the University of Adelaide ebook library, and checked against the 1906 Heinemann edition in the Internet Archive. I have silently corrected typos, curled quotes, replaced italics, diacritics, and scene breaks, set off letters and a diary extract as blockquotes, and made changes to spelling, punctuation, and hyphenation using www.oxforddictionaries.com.