Background
The book was rejected for publication in 1925, due in part to the influence of Lev Kamenev, then a leading Party official. Bulgakov subsequently wrote a play based on the story in 1926 for the Moscow Art Theater. However, the play was cancelled after the manuscript and copies were confiscated by the secret police, or OGPU. Eventually, Maxim Gorky intervened to get the manuscript returned.
The story has similarities with Dr. Faustus, Frankenstein, and The Island of Dr. Moreau. It was published in the Soviet Union only in 1987, more than 60 years after its completion, but was made known to Russian readers via samizdat. In 1968, it was published in English by Harvill Press, translated by Michael Glenny. More recently, it has been reprinted by Grove Press in paperback; ISBN 0-8021-5059-4.
The real life prototype for Professor Preobrazhensky was possibly Russo-French surgeon Serge Voronoff who was famous for his experiments on implanting humans with animal's testicles and thyroid glands.
Read more about this topic: Heart Of A Dog
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