The Ratcatcher

The Ratcatcher, Marina Tsvetaeva's masterpiece, is a satirical version of the Pied Piper of Hamelin legend in the form of a complex narrative poem that bears all the marks of Tsvetaeva's poetic style. Written in 1926, it was not available in Russia until 1965, and has hitherto been virtually unknown in English.

"If I had not read The Ratcatcher, I should have been more at ease . . . with my path of compromise. . . . No praise is high enough for the miracle that it is." --Boris Pasternak

"Not merely . . . a verbal structure astounding in its richness and shapeliness, but also a serious 'political' (in the widest sense) and ethical satire." --D.S. Mirsky

"Tsvetaeva's wonderful sense of rhythm and her savage satire are rendered unerringly into English by Angela Livingstone. Her translation makes reading Tsvetaeva's fairy-tale-with-bite effortless and immensely satisfying." --Isobel Montgomery, Guardian