{"product_id":"the-queen-of-spades-and-other-stories","title":"The Queen of Spades and Other Stories","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Queen of Spades and Other Stories\u003c\/i\u003e is a collection of short fiction showcasing Alexander Pushkin's application of Romantic sensibilities to uncompromising studies of human frailty. This Penguin Classics edition is translated with an introduction by Rosemary Edwards. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'The Queen of Spades', one of Pushkin's most popular and chilling short stories, tells of an inveterate card player who develops a dangerous obsession with the secret of an old lady's luck, which he believes will bring him the wealth he craves. 'The Negro of Peter the Great', a story based on the life Pushkin's own great-grandfather, is a vivid depiction - and criticism - of both French and Russian society, while 'Dubrovsky' is the Byronic tale of a dispossessed young officer. 'The Captain's Daughter' tells of a young man sent to military service - based on the actual events of the rebellion against Catherine II, it demonstrates Pushkin's unparalleled skill at blending fiction and history. Together these four stories display the versatility and innovation that earned Pushkin his reputation as a master of prose and established him as the towering figure in Russian literature. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRosemary Edmonds's translation is accompanied by an introduction examining Pushkin's simplicity of style and the powerful influence he exerted on his country's literature. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlexander Pushkin (1799-1837) was born in Moscow in 1799. Leaving school in 1817, he spent three years in St Petersburg working in the Foreign Office and writing erotic verse. His flirtations with pre-Decembrist movements and his revolutionary verses lead to his exile in 1820. After a stay in the Caucasus and Crimea he was sent to Bessarabia, where he began to write more seriously, beginning \u003ci\u003eEugene Onegin\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eTsygany\u003c\/i\u003e. In 1831 he retired to a family estate, married, and his literary output slackened. He was mortally wounded in a duel and died in January 1837. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIf you enjoyed \u003ci\u003eThe Queen of Spades\u003c\/i\u003e, you might like Fyodor Dostoyevsky's \u003ci\u003eThe Idiot\u003c\/i\u003e, also available in Penguin Classics.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"sb-details\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/alexander-pushkin-books\"\u003eAlexander Pushkin\u003c\/a\u003e (all their books in stock)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGenre:\u003c\/strong\u003e Fiction, Anthologies (multiple authors)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFormat:\u003c\/strong\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublished:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1962\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 316\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/strong\u003e Penguin Books Limited\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eISBN:\u003c\/strong\u003e 9780140441192\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Books Limited","offers":[{"title":"Poor Condition — £1.00","offer_id":47909260558513,"sku":"SB-0140441190-C4","price":1.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0618\/2669\/5345\/files\/0140441190.jpg?v=1789174441","url":"https:\/\/sellbooks.co.uk\/products\/the-queen-of-spades-and-other-stories","provider":"Sell Books .co.uk","version":"1.0","type":"link"}