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.