The Red Crown by Mikhail Bulgakov

Mikhail Bulgakov was born in Kiev, Ukraine in 1891 and died in Moscow, Russia in 1940. He died from a kidney disease inherited from his father. He was only 48 years old. He was a physician but decided to devote his time to writing. He wrote a lot about the horrors of the Russian civil war (November, 1917 to October 1922). He is famous for writing ‘A Dog’s Heart’ and ‘The Master and Margarita’ which was published after he died.

The Red Crown takes place during the Russian civil war. Approximately 10 million people were killed, most of them civilians. It is a dramatic story about a man who went in search of his younger brother at the behest of his mother. He found his brother who was on his way into battle. The man waited for his brother to return. When he did, the man’s life and his mind were devastated forever.