ALS in French, signed “Ivan Tourgueneff,” three pages on two adjoining sheets, 5.25 x 8.25, personal letterhead, February 20, 1877. Letter to Sophie De Gubernatis-Besobrasoff, in which he grants her the authorization to translate his novel Virgin Soil. In full (translated): "I hasten to give you authorization to translate 'Virgin Soil'—as you wish to—as I am convinced that I could not be in more competent and skillful hands. I am very happy, Madame that the first part of my novel has deserved your approbation and I hope that the second part, that you should have received by now, will not alter your impression too much. You will find on the second sheet of his letter a dedication, which would you please have put on the first volume first page of my works that should be sent to you...Please, be so kind, Madame, as to convey my hasty compliments to M. de Gubernatis and my best wishes to you." On the second integral leaf, Turgenev vertically pens an inscription to Gubernatis-Besobrasoff, signed, "de l'Auteur." In very good condition, with staining and paper loss along the hinge, affecting none of the writing. Released in 1877, Virgin Soil was Turgenev's final and most ambitious novel, portraying a group of young Russians who join the Populist movement and live as simple workers and peasants. A desirable letter from the master of Russian realism.Format: ALS