The Queen of Spades

Alexander Pushkin (1799–1837) was a poet, playwright, and novelist who achieved literary prominence before he was twenty. His radical politics led to government censorship and periods of banishment from the capital, but he eventually married a popular society beauty and be­came a regular part of court life. Notoriously touchy about his honor, he died at age thirty-seven in a duel with his wife’s alleged lover.