176 Pages
23 x 17 cm
English / Russian
Distributor: argobooks, Berlin
EUR 19.80
ISBN 978-3-948678-18-0
“Thirty-Three Monsters” by Lydia Zinovieva-Annibal,
is a novella in the form of a diary, first published in St. Petersburg in 1907.
In the "Silver Age" of Russian literature, Lydia Zinovieva Annibal ran a literary salon there,
"The Tower" together with her husband, the symbolist Viacheslav Ivanov.
The short novel, 33 Monsters was one of the few works of its day to openly discuss lesbianism. It was first banned but then judged as not obscene, it was published in 1907.
Eleonore de Montesquiou has now re-published it as a bilingual and illustrated edition in English and Russian.
presented by Eléonore de Montesquiou (concept and illustrations)
the current publication is a collaboration with Peter and Jenny Zinovieff (bibliography, translation and iconography), Varvara Toropkova (illustrations) and Johanna Ruukholm (graphic design).
A novel:
33 Monsters by Lydia Zinovieva-Annibal (Petersburg, 1907) is a young woman’s intimate diary. It is written to another woman, Vera, her lover. Vera is older than the narrator and forces her to sit for 33 male painters who will paint 33 versions of her beautiful body, the 33 monsters. Vera initiated this search for truth, the exposure of her lover’s beauty to men and to art. Art and life as an artwork will destroy each other; Vera will not survive this offering.
