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The Master And Margarita cover
The Master And Margarita
Public book overview with generated synopsis from the full running summary.

By Mikhail Bulgakov

34 chapters2007en
SummaryEnglish
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Synopsis
Quick synopsis of the book's plot, generated by our AI models.

Mikhail Berlioz and the poet Ivan “Homeless” Ponyrev begin their night at Patriarch’s Ponds with an absurd atheistic debate that is interrupted by a mysterious foreign scholar who proclaims the historicity of Jesus and foretells Berlioz’s violent death; moments later a tram crashes into Berlioz, leaving his head on the cobbles and launching Ivan into a frantic chase through Moscow’s alleys. Ivan’s pursuit ends in a broken‑down apartment, a naked intruder, stolen icons and a barefoot escape to the Griboedov’s theatre, where the sudden appearance of the enigmatic consultant “W” triggers a chaotic midnight meeting of twelve writers and forces Ivan into a psychiatric clinic. Meanwhile, the black‑magic professor Woland and his retinue arrive at the Variety Theatre, staging a surreal séance that showers money, decapitates the master of ceremonies, and vanishes, while a series of supernatural attacks—on Styopa Likhodeev, Varenukha and other officials—spreads panic through Sadovaya Street. Parallel to the Moscow turmoil, Pontius Pilate’s interrogation of Yeshua Ha‑Nozri culminates in a brutal execution on Bald Mountain, only to be disrupted by a storm summoned by the desperate tax‑collector Matthew Levi, freeing Yeshua and drowning the condemned. In the aftermath, Ivan, still haunted by the consultant’s whisper, is coerced to write a report, confronts the lingering presence of Woland’s shadow, and ultimately faces the choice between surrendering to madness or exposing the mystic conspiracy that has upended his world.

Bibliographic Details
Details from the uploaded book file.

Primary Author

Mikhail Bulgakov

Source Title

The Master And Margarita

Publisher

Penguin Books Ltd

Language

en

Summary Language

English

Published Date

2007-01-01

Published Year

2007

Rights

Not available

Contributors

Mikhail Bulgakov (Author)

Identifiers

No identifiers provided.

Description

<p>The devil comes to Moscow wearing a fancy suit. With his disorderly band of accomplices - including a demonic, gun-toting tomcat - he immediately begins to create havoc.<p>Disappearances, destruction and death spread through the city like wildfire and Margarita discovers that her lover has vanished in the chaos. Making a bargain with the devil, she decides to try a little black magic of her own to save the man she loves ...

Characters
Character directory for this processed book.

Bar-Rabbān

male

Robber whose release is requested by Sanhedrin and granted by Pilate

Dysmas

male

One of the two robbers condemned alongside Yeshua

Gestas

male

Second robber condemned alongside Yeshua

Joseph Kaifa

male

High priest of the Sanhedrin who debates release of Bar‑Rabbān

Mark Ratslayer

male

Centurion nicknamed ‘Ratslayer’ who whips Yeshua and escorts him

Matthew Levi

male

Former tax collector who becomes Yeshua's companion

Pontius Pilate

male

Roman procurator of Judea, suffering severe headache, presides over Yeshua's trial

Yeshua Ha-Nozri

male

Galilean prisoner, identified as Jesus, denies incitement, discusses philosophy

Mad German Professor

male

claims to have witnessed Pilate’s balcony and displays severe mental instability

Woman tram driver

female

operates the tram that strikes Berlioz, causing his death

Bearded Fellow

male

Smoker who guards Ivan’s clothes at the river and later steals them.

Black Cat

neutral

Huge black cat that walks on hind legs, boards a tram, and aids the professor’s escape.

Choirmaster

male

Ex‑choirmaster who confronts Ivan after Berlioz’s death, wearing a broken pince‑nez and claiming not to understand Russian.

Kiriushka

female

Naked woman in the bathroom who mistakes Ivan for a intruder and shouts about Fyodor Ivanych.

Little Girl

female

Five‑year‑old who opens the door to apartment 13‑47 for Ivan.

Doctor Stravinsky

male

Chief of the psychiatric clinic, about forty‑five, examines and detains Ivan Homeless

Fyodor Vassilyevich

male

Bearded staff member tasked with monitoring Ivan Homeless

Ivan Nikolaevich Homeless

male

Poet detained in a psychiatric clinic, recounts encounter with mysterious foreign consultant who knows Pontius Pilate

Azazello

male

Mysterious red‑haired man, part of Woland's retinue, assaults Varenukha. Azazello appears as a red‑haired man at the funeral, reveals the stolen head, and invites Margarita to a midnight rendezvous with a foreigner, giving her a golden ointment box.

Koroviev

male

Assistant to Woland, speaks on telephone, informs Varenukha of Likhodeev's absence.

Messenger Woman

female

Uniformed woman delivering super‑lightning telegrams.

Professor Woland

male

Black‑magic professor whose séance is advertised.

Red‑haired Naked Girl

female

Naked red‑haired girl appearing in Likhodeev's apartment hall, offers a kiss. She materializes at Rimsky's window as a decayed corpse, stretches a green arm to open the latch, and disappears with a crowing cock.

Rimsky

male

Financial director of the Variety Theatre, managing office affairs. He flees the office after the supernatural encounter, steals the magic banknotes, and vanishes on the Leningrad express.

Styopa Likhodeev

male

Director of Variety Theatre, previously contracted with Woland, now missing.

Varenukha

male

Administrator of the Variety Theatre, active in handling telegrams and phone calls. Varenukha arrives bruised, pallid, wearing a striped scarf, and casts no shadow; lies about Styopa Likhodeev; disappears supernaturally.

Praskovya Fyodorovna

female

Nurse who aids Ivan, picks up pages, gives injection

Black‑bearded Lone Spectator

male

A black‑bearded man attempted to breach the cordons, was wounded, then wrote frantic notes on a parchment about Matthew Levi’s despair.

Man in Hood

male

Mysterious hooded figure observed the execution, sat on a three‑legged stool, examined Yeshua's body and declared him dead.

Tribune

male

Roman tribune arrived late on the hill, whispered to the centurion, and departed with the hooded man after the executions.

Ace of Diamonds

neutral

Ash‑coloured dog that appears during the investigation, howls from the broken window and leads officers to a cab stand.

Affiliate Manager

male

Manager of the city affiliate, obsessed with organizing clubs, forces staff into a forced choir performance.

Anna Richardovna

female

Secretary of Prokhor Petrovich, found sobbing and frantic during Vassily's investigation.

Karpov

male

Messenger who reports that the magician was supposedly staying in Likhodeev's apartment.

Madame Rimsky

female

Wife of Rimsky who appears sobbing after the disappearance of the Variety staff.

Prokhor Petrovich

male

Chairman of the Spectacles Commission, present during Vassily's visit and witnessed a surreal scene with a phantom suit.

Vassily Stepanovich Lastochkin

male

Senior bookkeeper of the Variety theatre who attempts to manage the chaos after the black‑magic séance.

Weeping Girl

female

Young woman selling literature at the affiliate, who breaks into hysterical singing.

Andrei Fokich Sokov

male

Variety Theatre barman who meets Woland, receives a prophecy of liver cancer and seeks medical help.

Maximilian Andreevich Poplavsky

male

Uncle of the dead editor Mikhail Berlioz, industrial economist from Kiev who travels to Moscow to claim his nephew's Sadovaya apartment.

Professor Bouret

male

Neurologist who appears in Kuzmin’s office offering consolation amid the leech chaos.

Professor Kuzmin

male

Physician who examines the barman’s head, dismisses the cancer prophecy, and experiences surreal leech infiltration.

Margarita Nikolaevna

female

Margarita is introduced as the grieving, childless wife of a prominent specialist; her backstory, dream, and actions are detailed.

Natasha

female

Natasha is Margarita’s housemaid who chats about the séance rumors.

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