Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians� most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now!



Gilyarovsky's self-described "chronicle" is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin.



First published in 1926, this work has been translated into English for the first time and it positively teems with rich descriptions and vivid anecdotes:



...from the depths of Moscow�s sewers to the murky back
rooms of its gambling dens...



...from the steam-filled halls of banyas to the dining rooms of posh restaurants and workers� taverns...



...from the lives of students and waiters to the struggles
of market traders and heroic firemen...



Gilyarovsky�s book documents pre-Soviet life in the Russian capital like no work before or since. This first-ever English translation includes dozens of historical photos, poems in the original Russian, an index, and maps.