Alexander Griboedov's Woe from Wit is one of the masterpieces of Russian drama. A verse comedy set in Moscow high society after the Napoleonic wars, it offers sharply drawn characters and clever repartee, mixing meticulously crafted banter and biting social critique.

Introduction by Angela Brintlinger
Translator's Note
Dramatis Personae
Woe from Wit

Alexander Griboedov (1795-1829), described by Pushkin as the "cleverest man of his generation," is best known as the author of Woe from Wit. While serving on a diplomatic mission to Persia in the aftermath of the 1826-1828 Russo-Persian War, he was brutally murdered when a mob assaulted the Russian embassy in Tehran.
Betsy Hulick has translated Russian poets and playwrights, including Pushkin and Chekhov, and her translation of Gogol's Inspector General was produced on Broadway.