Rand's first published novel, the semi-autobiographical "We the Living", was published in 1936. Set in Soviet Russia, it focused on the struggle between the individual and the state. In a 1959 foreword to the novel, Rand stated that "We the Living" "is as near to an autobiography as I will ever write. It is not an autobiography in the literal, but only in the intellectual sense. The plot is invented, the background is not ..." Initial sales were slow and the American publisher let it go out of print, although European editions continued to sell. After the success of her later novels, Rand was able to release a revised version in 1959 that has since sold over three million copies. In 1942, without Rand's knowledge or permission, the novel was made into a pair of Italian films, "Noi vivi" and "Addio, Kira". Rediscovered in the 1960s, these films were re-edited into a new version which was approved by Rand and re-released as "We the Living" in 1986.