<p>At the young age of twenty-two Sublieutenant Romashov has become an officer, but he’s already disillusioned with army life in the middle of nowhere, and the brutish and blood-thirsty natures of his commanders and peers. The only thing keeping him from outright depression is his growing infatuation with the wife of a fellow officer; an infatuation which, half-returned, leads inevitably towards the titular subject.</p> <p><i>The Duel</i> is regarded as the highlight of <a href="https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/aleksandr-kuprin">Kuprin’s</a> bibliography and was praised by famous Russian authors of the period including <a href="https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/anton-chekhov">Chekhov</a>, Gorky, <a href="https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/ivan-bunin">Bunin</a> and <a href="https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/leo-tolstoy">Tolstoy</a>. It was published in 1905 in the middle of the failure of the Russian army in the Russo-Japanese war and widespread social unrest. Kuprin himself had military experience as a lieutenant, which shines through in the novel’s vivid depictions of the minutiae of officer life. <i>The Duel</i> was later adapted for both film and television in Russia. This edition is based on the 1916 translation.</p>