The Queen of Spades

Eugene Onegin is a bored St. Petersburg dandy, whose life consists of balls, concerts, parties, and nothing more. When he inherits a substantial fortune and a landed estate, he moves to the country where he strikes up a friendship with his neighbor, a young poet named Vladimir Lensky. Onegin is introduced to Lensky's fiancee, Olga, and her sister, Tatyana, who becomes intensely drawn to Onegin. After rejecting Tatyana's advances, Onegin attempts to seduce Olga, simply to spite Lensky. Eugene Onegin is considered a classic of Russian literature, and its protagonist has served as the model for a number of Russian literary heroes. Almost the entire work is made up of 389 fourteen-line stanzas of iambic tetrameter with the unusual rhyme scheme "AbAbCCddEffEgg", where the uppercase letters represent feminine rhymes while the lowercase letters represent masculine rhymes. The innovative rhyme scheme, the natural tone and diction, and the economical transparency of presentation all demonstrate the virtuosity which has been instrumental in proclaiming Pushkin as the undisputed master of Russian poetry.This case laminate collector's edition includes a Victorian inspired dust-jacket.