Short stories
This volume contains new translations of four of Pushkin's best works of fiction. The Queen of Spadeshas long been acknowledged as one of the world's greatest short stories, in which Pushkin explores the nature of obsession. The Tales of Belkinare witty parodies of sentimentalism, while Peter the Great's Blackamooris an early experiment with recreating the past. The Captain's Daughteris a novel-length masterpiece which combines historical fiction in the manner of Sir Walter Scott with the devices of the Russian fairy-tale. The Introduction provides close readings of the stories and places them in their European literary context.