The Queen of Spades

Written by Alexander Pushkin

Narrated by Cathy Dobson

Alexander Pushkin's greatest short story. Hermann, a young German officer serving in the Engineers regiment, is obsessed by gambling, although he never indulges in it himself. One night he hears a tale about how a wealthy 87-year-old Countess in St. Petersburg once learned the secret of how to win on three cards from the Duc d'Orleans. He becomes obsessed with learning the secret himself.

In pursuit of this aim, he becomes enamoured of the Countess' companion, the beautiful Lizaveta. A nocturnal visit to his paramour, however, turns to tragedy as he finds himself in the chamber of the Countess and tries first by persuasion and then by force to get her to reveal the secret of the cards. The denouement of the story is uncanny and captivating.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Red Door Consulting
• Release date: Mar 15, 2014
• ISBN: 9781467654098

Reviews for The Queen of Spades

[Alicia Araujo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Woah I really enjoyed that.The cheek of her! Perfect and kept me in suspense .

[jamesmscott-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Taking nothing away from Pushkin's fame as a founder of the Russian voice in literature, these "romances" of the era just aren't my thing. Also, two of the four stories here - not just one, as mentioned in the introduction - were left unfinished. The Queen of Spades is a good short story for its time. Too bad Pushkin was on such a short leash with the Czar and his coterie. Highly censored and could never really blossom.

[crmass_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed these stories, with Dubrovsky being my favorite.