GORKY MAXIM: (1868-1936) 'It seems to me that such material requires the form of a novel, not a play'

GORKY MAXIM: (1868-1936) 'It seems to me that such material requires the form of a novel, not a play'

GORKY MAXIM: (1868-1936) Russian writer and socialist political thinker and proponent. An excellent A.L.S., A Peshkov (his real name being Alexei Peshkov), two pages, 4to, n.p. (Marianske Lazne), 3rd March 1924, to Emma Woytinsky, in Cyrillic. Gorky informs his correspondent that he shall offer her translation of Stefan Zweig's play to World Literature and other Moscow publishing houses, further remarking 'If you want to know my personal opinion of the play, here it is: I think it is too cumbersome, technically, for staging, requires considerable expenses to be staged and that it hardly can be produced on the stage of a Russian theatre under present conditions. In reading it, one does not gain a very favourable impression: it is heavy, the story is told in detail, in the German manner, it is therefore unnecessarily wordy at the expense of dramatical qualities and quick action. It seems to me that such material requires the form of a novel, not a play' and also enquires 'Is it correct that Zweig has dedicated it to R. Rolland?' Gorky also asks for his thanks to be conveyed to Woytinsky's husband for some books that he had sent, adding 'I shall send him in a few days my new little book' and asking 'Would you not find time to translate for "Conversations" two or three short stories by Edschmid, Zweig or Kaiser, or somebody among the young? I count on your taste to make the choice'. Accompanied by the original envelope hand addressed by Gorky. A letter of fine literary content. A couple of extremely small, minor, neat splits to the edges of a couple of folds, VG

Emma Woytinsky (1893-1968) Russian translator and statistician, wife of Vladimir S. Voitinsky (1885-1960) Russian revolutionary, politician and economist.

Stefan Zweig (1881-1942) Austrian novelist, playwright, journalist and biographer, himself a passionate collector of autograph manuscripts. Zweig profoundly admired Rolland and published his biography, Romain Rolland: The Man and His Works in 1921.

Romain Rolland (1866-1944) French dranatist, novelist, art historian and mystic, Nobel Prize winner for Literature, 1915. Rolland was a leading supporter of Joseph Stalin in France and also a close friend of Stefan Zweig.