Translations
Translations of The Master and Margarita
24 translations are recorded in our catalogue.
These are the translated editions we hold records for. A translation we have not catalogued is missing from this list, not from the world.
This book in English
What we found when we looked into it
Written by a person, from the sources listed at the end. Where critics disagree, this says so rather than picking a winner. It is not a catalogue record and does not claim the same authority as the table above.
Researched 2026-08-18. The novel was not published in any form (even in Russian) until decades after Bulgakov's 1940 death, and not in full until 1973 — **no PD English translation exists or can exist under current US copyright.**
Translations
| Translator(s) | Year | Publisher/Imprint | Copyright status | In print? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mirra Ginsburg | 1967 | Grove Press | In copyright | Not independently verified |
| Michael Glenny | 1967 | Harper & Row / Vintage | In copyright | Yes |
| Diana Burgin & Katherine Tiernan O'Connor | 1993/1995 | Vintage / Ardis | In copyright | Yes |
| Richard Pevear & Larissa Volokhonsky | 1997 | Penguin Classics | In copyright | Yes |
| Michael Karpelson | 2006 | Wordsworth Classics | In copyright | Not independently verified |
| Hugh Aplin | 2008 | Alma Classics | In copyright | Yes |
Reception
- Kevin Moss, Bulgakov scholar, Middlebury College, maintains a dedicated academic comparison resource (cr.middlebury.edu/bulgakov, accessed 2026-08-18 — scholar, no commercial stake): judges Burgin & O'Connor "by far the best [of the four older translations], if one is interested in studying what Bulgakov really wrote," crediting their benefit of "some 30 years of Bulgakov scholarship." He calls Ginsburg's version "lively and entertaining" but notes it is incomplete, translated from an expurgated (censored) Russian text rather than the full 1973 edition. Ginsburg's rendering is elsewhere characterized (via secondary comparison, fourththoughts.wordpress.com, accessed 2026-08-18) as "the most human" and "deeply felt" by another reviewer.
- Per welovetranslations.com, accessed 2026-08-18: Glenny is "highly readable" with "tremendous verve" but "tends to gloss over difficult points," with "unfortunate slips and omissions" — "simpler, softer, and more humane" but less accurate; Pevear & Volokhonsky, per the same comparison, was ranked "on top" for both readability and fidelity by graduate students surveyed, with prose called "luminous"; Aplin (2008) is praised for matching "the rhythm of Bulgakov's prose," "inspired and faithful," though some passages are unclear "without prior translation knowledge"; Karpelson is called "erratic," containing "disqualifying mistakes."
- Note the inconsistency in P&V's reputation across languages/authors in this batch: here they're reported as a graduate-student-survey favorite for both readability and fidelity; in the Dostoevsky/Tolstoy dossiers above, named scholars (Morson, Malcolm) reject their catalogue as "awkward... muddles." Both claims are sourced and should stand side by side rather than be smoothed into one verdict about "P&V as a brand."
Parallel excerpt
No public-domain English translation exists for this title — the underlying Russian text itself did not exist in complete form until 1973. Per the format rules, an excerpt is skipped. A short attributed quote (≤15 words) from the sourced comparison: Burgin & O'Connor is judged "by far the best... if one is interested in studying what Bulgakov really wrote" (Kevin Moss).
Decision guide
The disagreement here runs along a real fidelity/completeness axis, not just taste: Ginsburg (1967) should carry an honest flag that it is translated from a censored source text, which is a materially different claim than "less polished" — a reader wanting the actual novel should be told this plainly. Burgin & O'Connor is the scholarly-recommended pick for studying the real Bulgakov, per a named academic with a dedicated comparison resource. Glenny is the most readable but least accurate, by its own comparison source's account. Pevear & Volokhonsky and Aplin are the two modern contenders both praised for balancing readability and fidelity — sources here do not force a choice between them.