Summary
Summary of The Prose Tales of Alexander Pushkin
The Prose Tales of Alexander Pushkin at a glance
Summary: 8 min to read
- Reading time
- About 7 h 45 min6 h 10 min fast, 9 h 15 min slow
- Length
- 111,000 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
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Key ideas
Key idea 1
Small things carry great consequences
A boy of sixteen loses his way in a blizzard on the Russian steppe. A ragged stranger leads him to shelter, and the boy gives him a hare-skin coat in thanks. The coat splits at the seams, yet this modest gift will matter when the boy faces a rebel gallows.
Pushkin’s prose tales turn on such small objects and gestures. A coat, a card or a candlestick can set events moving, bringing love, honour and revenge into the lives of his characters.
Key idea 2
Honour stands before a rebel
When Pougatcheff captures the fortress, officers who refuse to swear allegiance are hanged.
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Key idea 3
Injustice turns a gentleman outlaw
A quarrel between neighbours becomes a disaster when the wealthy Troekouroff uses a crooked lawsuit to take Andrei Doubrovsky’s estate.
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Key idea 4
One secret crowds out conscience
Hermann never gambles, but a story about three winning cards takes hold of him.
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Key idea 5
Love takes an unexpected route
In The Amateur Peasant Girl, Liza dresses as a blacksmith’s daughter to meet Alexei, whose father is her father’s enemy.
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Key idea 6
Pride and sorrow shape ordinary lives
Silvio’s refusal to fight after an insult makes the regiment think him a coward.
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Key idea 7
Jokes and rumours reveal character
An insult at a neighbour’s party sends the undertaker Adrian Prokhoroff home angry and drunk.
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Key idea 8
Private feelings meet public expectations
In Egyptian Nights, Charsky dislikes being known as a poet, yet helps a poor Italian improviser find an audience.
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Key idea 9
Human gestures set events moving
Across these tales, large events become personal through vivid people and small gestures.
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The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Who it’s for
You will love this book if you enjoy adventure, duels and robbers, ghost stories, tender romances and sharp comedy, told by a poet with a sly sense of humour.
What this book is
A boy of sixteen is lost in a blizzard on the Russian steppe. A ragged stranger guides him to shelter, and the boy thanks him with a hare-skin coat that splits at the seams. That small gift will later stand between him and a rebel gallows.
This book gathers the prose tales of Aleksandr Pushkin, the poet who turned to fiction in the 1830s. It holds The Captain's Daughter, Doubrovsky, The Queen of Spades, and short tales about love, honour and revenge. Pushkin lets small things, a coat, a card, a candlestick, carry the plot.
In this summary
- 1Small things carry great consequencesFree
- 2Honour stands before a rebel
- 3Injustice turns a gentleman outlaw
- 4One secret crowds out conscience
- 5Love takes an unexpected route
- 6Pride and sorrow shape ordinary lives
- 7Jokes and rumours reveal character
- 8Private feelings meet public expectations
- 9Human gestures set events moving
A careless youth learns on the road
Peter Grineff tells the story of The Captain's Daughter many years after the events. He grows up spoiled on his father's estate near Simbirsk. His old servant Savelitch raises him, and a French tutor teaches him little beyond bad habits.
At sixteen Peter expects a bright life among the Guards in St. Petersburg. His father sends him to serve at Orenburg instead. The parting advice is simple. Take care of your honour while you are young.
At an inn Peter meets a hussar captain named Zourin, who teaches him billiards and fills his glass with punch. By evening Peter owes a hundred rubles. Savelitch begs him not to pay, but Peter, ashamed, orders the old man about and pays. Then a blizzard strikes the steppe. A bearded stranger guides the sledge to an inn, and in the morning Peter gives him the hare-skin coat over Savelitch's protests.
A kindness given freely can come back when it is needed most.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
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Check yourself
How does Peter respond when Pougatcheff asks him to serve?
Right. “Peter says plainly that he cannot, and the rebel lets him go.”Not quite. “Peter says plainly that he cannot, and the rebel lets him go.”
What makes Vladimir Doubrovsky give up revenge against Troekouroff?
Right. “There he falls in love with Troekouroff's daughter Masha and gives up revenge for her sake.”Not quite. “There he falls in love with Troekouroff's daughter Masha and gives up revenge for her sake.”
What does Hermann feel after the countess dies?
Right. “Hermann feels no remorse, only the loss of the secret.”Not quite. “Hermann feels no remorse, only the loss of the secret.”
Go deeper: the whole of The Prose Tales of Alexander Pushkin
About 8 h to read.Start freePaperback, hardcover and large print, printed for you at cost, are on their way.Email me when it is printed
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 111,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 7 h 45 min
Questions about The Prose Tales of Alexander Pushkin
What is The Prose Tales of Alexander Pushkin about?
It is a collection of short and long stories by Pushkin. They include a rebellion novel, a robber tale, a ghost story, tales of love and honour, and unfinished works about a poet and the Tsar's African godson.
Which stories are in the collection?
The book holds The Captain's Daughter, Doubrovsky, The Queen of Spades, The Amateur Peasant Girl, The Shot, The Snowstorm, The Stationmaster, The Coffin-Maker, Kirdjali, Egyptian Nights, and Peter the Great's African.
Is The Captain's Daughter based on a true story?
It is fiction set during the real Pougatcheff rebellion of 1773 to 1774. The rebel leader, the siege of Orenburg and the Empress Catherine are historical, while Peter Grineff and the Mironoff family are invented.
Who is Pougatcheff in the book?
He is a Cossack rebel who claims to be the dead Emperor Peter the Third. In The Captain's Daughter he leads an army, seizes forts, and has a surprising personal link with the young hero.
Is Pushkin's prose easy to read?
Pushkin writes in a quick, clear style with short scenes, lively dialogue and direct narration. Most tales can be read in a single sitting, and each one has a strong central situation that is easy to follow.
Cite this edition
Pushkin, Alexander. The Prose Tales of Alexander Pushkin. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-prose-tales-of-alexander-pushkin.
Pushkin, A. (2026). The prose tales of Alexander Pushkin. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-prose-tales-of-alexander-pushkin
Pushkin, Alexander. The Prose Tales of Alexander Pushkin. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-prose-tales-of-alexander-pushkin.
@book{pushkin2026prose,
author = {Pushkin, Alexander},
title = {The Prose Tales of Alexander Pushkin},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-prose-tales-of-alexander-pushkin}
}
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