authors and their best-known works: in doing
which, we shall attend more exclusively to those productions of which
the subject or treatment is purely national.

One of the most popular and prolific writers of fiction is Zagoskin,
whose historical romance "Youriy Miloslaffskiy," met with great and
permanent success. The epoch of this story is in 1612, a most
interesting crisis in the Russian history, when the valour of Minin
enabled his countrymen to shake off the hated yoke of Poland. His other
work, "Roslavleoff," is less interesting: the period is 1812. We may
also mention his "Iskonsitel"--"the Tempter"--a fantastic story, in
which an imaginary being is represented as mingling with and influencing
the affairs of real life.

Of Boulgarin, we may mention, besides his "Ivan Vuijgin," a romance in
the manner of "Gil Blas," the scenery and characters of which are
entirely Russian, two historical novels of considerable importance. "The
False Dimitri," and "Mazeppa,"--the hero of the latter being _a real
person_, and not, as most readers are aware, a fictitious character
invented by Byron.

Next comes the name of Lajetchnikoff, whose "Last Page" possesses a
reputation, we believe, tolerably extensive throughout Europe. The
action passes during the war between Charles XII. and Peter the Great,
and Catharine plays a chief part in it, as servant of the pastor Glueck,
becoming empress at the conclusion. The "House of Ice," by the same
writer, is perhaps more generally known than the preceding work. The
last-named romance depicts with great spirit the struggle between the
Russian and foreign parties in the reign of Anna Ivanovna. But perhaps
the most remarkable work of Lajetchnikoff is the romance entitled
"Bassourman," the scene of which is laid under Ivan III., surnamed the
Great.[9] Another Polevoi (Nikolai) produced a work of great
merit:--"The Oath at the Tomb of Our Lord," a very faithful picture of
the first half of the fifteenth century, and singular from the
circumstance that love plays no part in the drama. Besides this, we owe
to Polevoi a wild story entitled "Abbaddon." Veltman produced, under the
title of "Kostshei the Deathless," a historical study of the manners of
the twelfth century, possessing considerable merit. It would be unjust
to omit the name of a lady, the Countess Shishkin, who produced the
historical novel "Mikhail Vassilievitch Skopin-Shuisky," which obtained
great popularity.

[9] The non-