"When neighbouring landowners Troekurov and Dubrovsky fall out over an apparent insult, their years of friendship come to an abrupt end. Enraged by this state of affairs, Troekurov resolves to gain Dubrovsky's estate for his own. And being a man of position and influence, and with the authorities 'open to persuasion', it is not long before the corrupt system declares him the rightful owner." "Hearing of his father's merciless dispossession at the hands of a so-called friend, the young Dubrovsky rushes back home, only to find his father at the point of death. Faced with the loss of both his father and his ancestral home, Dubrovsky determines on revenge - and with the authorities so blatantly corrupt, he sees only one option before him: to take the law into his own hands. Reinventing himself as a fearful brigand, he soon gains a chilling reputation among the neighbourhood - but to achieve his ultimate aim of avenging his father, he knows he must resort to far subtler means than banditry." "This thrilling story is accompanied by 'Egyptian Nights', probably the most remarkable of all Pushkin's fragments."--BOOK JACKET.

Pushkin's 1825 play tells the story of Godunov - a fundamentally good and skilled politician whose reign as an elected tsar (1598-1605) was undermined by moral scandal, popular distrust and rival claims of legitimacy. The translator's introduction provides a cultural and historical background.

Versroman, der på baggrund af livet i de højere kredse i zartidens Rusland giver et billede af den typiske russiske intellektuelles tragedie