We the Living

The first literary work of one of the most influential philosophers and novelists of the twentieth century—available for the first time in trade paperback. Ayn Rand wrote of her first novel, We the Living, It is as near to an autobiography as I will ever write. The plot is invented, the background is not…The specific events of Kira’s life were not mine: her ideas, her convictions, her values, were and are.” We the Livingdepicts the struggle of the individual against the state, and the impact of the Russian Revolution on three human beings who demand the right to live their own lives and pursue their own happiness. It tells of a young woman’s passionate love, held like a fortress against the corrupting evil of a totalitarian state. This classic novel is not a story of politics, but of the men and women who have to struggle for existence behind the banners and slogans.

Ayn Rand published her first novel, We the Living, in 1936. Anthem followed in 1938. And it was with the publication of The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged that she achieved her spectacular success.