The First Circle - Hardcover

Physical description: xiii, 580 p ; 25 cm. Notes: Translation of V kruge pervom (romanized form). Summary: The First Circle is both a brooding account of human nature and a scrupulously exact description of a historical period. A young diplomat and scion of a corrupt ruling class, discovers an earlier and more spiritual tradition than that adopted by the October Revolution, the experience of acquiring an immortal soul. Unwisely but generously, he helps a friend in danger of arrest, only to be arrested himself and sent to a special prison. This, the archetype of the Gulag, is described with masterful psychological insight. Subject: Political persecution - Soviet Union - Politics and government - 1917-1936 - Fiction. Historical fiction. Russian fiction. Political prisoners. Forced labor - Soviet Union. Other names: Whitney, Thomas P. Genre: Novel, Fiction.