This is a very important piece of Russian literature judging by a small research I did on the Internet - I haven't had the time to read it myself yet. It was written in 1881 by Nikolai Leskov(1831-1895) and you can find a synopsis on the story in wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tale_of_Cross-eyed_Lefty_from_Tula_and_the_Steel_Flea I'm not sure when this particular edition came out which annoys me a bit as I would like to know more about the illustrator of whom there is nothing online! His (or her) name is credited in the back of the book as N. Kuzmin but there are no other clues. If any blog readers recognise the name and style I'd be grateful if they could send me a note. I think these pictures are truly fantastic. Just taking a close look at those faces and poses - they reveal nationality, emotions, social status, intelligence of each character before you even start reading the story.
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