The Queen of Spades is a famous short story by Alexander Pushkin about the unpredictable quirks of fate. Hermann, an officer in the Imperial Russian army, learns a story about an old countess: many years ago she lost a fortune at cards, and then won it back with the secret of the three winning cards, which she learned from the notorious Count of St. Germain. Hermann becomes obsessed with obtaining the secret. The book contains 14 black and white illustrations by Alexandre Benois.
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