In the autumn of 1852, Ivan Goncharov, then the renowned author of The
Same Old Story, was invited by Admiral Putyatin to join him as his
secretary on an expedition to the Far East on board the frigate
Pallada, calling at London and Cape Town before sailing on to Java,
Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Shanghai, the Philippines and Korea. As the
flagship and its small flotilla advanced through the seas and called at
various ports, Goncharov kept detailed log and diary entries and wrote
letters home to friends recounting his experiences - material which
would later form the basis of a full-length account of his voyage.
Goncharov's pages brim with memorable scenes and unforgettable
characters, and are suffused with the wit and humour of his most famous
novel, which the author was gestating at the time - so much so that he
even considered turning the notes of his journey into "The Travels of
Oblomov." Widely acclaimed long after its publication - with Mikhail
Bulgakov describing the book as "immortal" - and here presented in a
sparkling new translation by Stephen Pearl, The Frigade Pallada is
further proof of Goncharov's narrative genius.
