Celebrated for the wit of her satirical sketches, Teffi was also a writer of uncommonsensitivity, capable of plumbing the darker aspects of humanpsychology while retaining the signature grace of her style. The stories collectedhere share spiritual and supernatural themes, drawing from the provincialRussia of Teffi’s youth to depict communities where Orthodox Christianitycoexists with the shapeshifters and house spirits of ancient folk belief.

A young girl, haunted by the sinister sound of a church bell, resolves to becomea saint. A reluctant participant on a mass pilgrimage to the Solovetskyislands has a shatteringly profound experience. A young married couple’s relationshipbecomes strained as they each nurse the unspoken fear that their maidis a witch. By turns playful and profound, drily sceptical and solemn, thesetales of other worlds precisely illuminate human desires, fears and failings.