In the autumn of 1852, Ivan Goncharov, then the renowned author of The Same Old Story, was invited by Admiral Putyatin to join him as his secretary on an expedition to the Far East on board the frigate Pallada, calling at London and Cape Town before sailing on to Java, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Shanghai, the Philippines and Korea. As the flagship and its small flotilla advanced through the seas and called at various ports, Goncharov kept detailed log and diary entries and wrote letters home to friends recounting his experiences – material which would later form the basis of a full-length account of his voyage.

Goncharov’s pages brim with memorable scenes and unforgettable characters, and are suffused with the wit and humour of his most famous novel, which the author was gestating at the time – so much so that he even considered turning the notes of his journey into ‘The Travels of Oblomov’. Widely acclaimed long after its publication – with Mikhail Bulgakov describing the book as “immortal” – and here presented in a sparkling new translation by Stephen Pearl, The Frigade Pallada is further proof of Goncharov’s narrative genius.