Villette in Russian – Part One

The first translation of Villette was published in 1853. In 1856 and 1860 a translation of La Maitresse d’Anglais was published. These have been described earlier in Nastavnitsa ili pansion v brussele.
The first of 27 editions of a new Russian translation of Villette was published in 1983, as Городок (Gorodok, pronounced as Garadok), which means little city. The first half was translated by A. or L. Orel.  In most cases the name A. Orel is given, in the other cases L. Orel. It has not been possible to find out anything more about this person, but he or she also translated Shakespeare. The second half of the novel was translated by Elisabeta Jakovlena Surits.
The 1983 edition was published in Moscow, had 559 pages and an introduction by N. Michalskoy.

Cover of the 1983 Russian Villette

The second edition was published in 1990 by Pravda from Moscow, with the Michalskoy introduction. It had 477 pages.

Cover of the 1990 Russian Villette