“Julie Curtis’s The Englishman from Lebedian’: A Life of Evgeny Zamiatin is an indispensable new biography for readers who want to learn more about one of Russia’s most important 20th-century writers. Curtis has unearthed fascinating new details about Zamiatin’s early years in England, and she brings to life the world of Revolutionary Russia as he wrote what would become his masterpiece, We. The biography’s concluding chapters are especially riveting, as Curtis describes Zamiatin’s final years in emigration and his relationship with friends and colleagues in Soviet Russia and abroad. Beautifully written and deeply researched, The Englishman from Lebedian’ will undoubtedly become the English language standard for both scholars and general readers.”