Written in the autumn of 1830 and sometimes referred to as "the little parodies," the five stories in this collection involve a number of the key contemporary themes in European literature, including the Byronic hero, the Gothic novel, and the tale of the supernatural. Yet each sparkling vignette adds an unexpected twist to these familiar literary themes, and in doing so fruitful new avenues for exploration are suggested. These tales quickly proved remarkably influential, and Russia’s future literature simply would not have been the same without them.