Edward Lear et al. - Topsy-Turvy World - 1978

Topsy-Turvy World. English Humour in Verse.
Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1978

A collection of English absurd poetry with uncommon illustrations, published in the Soviet Union, for educational purposes.

The book contains about 180 short poems altogether from a variety of authors including Edward Lear, Jonathan Swift, and many others. Preface in Russian on Edward Lear and absurd English poetry. The main part is a large compilation of Edward Lear's poems followed by another 100 poems by various authors.

At the end of the book, there is a 40 pages long extensive English-Russian commentary that explains several historical and cultural references and allusions of the poems for the contemporary Russian reader / language learner.

Illustrated in an uncommon way, different from the English tradition but still harmonizing with the absurd humour of the poems.

Published by Progress Publishers, the foreign-language propaganda publishing house of the Soviet Union.

Bound in the original editorial red cloth and illustrated paper dustjacket.

Condition: Good, no stains, no tears, no creases, no insriptions. Internally and externally clean. The dust jacket and the pages have darkened with age. Apart from that, very good condition.