Theatrical Novel

"Theatrical Novel" is an unfinished novel by Mikhail Bulgakov. Written in the first person, on behalf of a certain writer Sergei Leontievich Maksudov, the novel tells about the theater behind the scenes and the world of writers. The impetus for the creation of this novel was Bulgakov's conflict with the chief director of the Moscow Art Theater K.S. Stanislavsky regarding the production of the play "The Cabal of the Holy One." Therefore, "Theatrical Romance" contains caricatures of both Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko, as well as many other employees of the Moscow Art Theater. The work recreates many dramatic and comic moments of rehearsals in the theater.