To say that Grigorii Petrovich Danilevsky has been forgotten over the years is an exaggeration; his moderate liberal views meant that his work was not forbidden during the Soviet period, and the attractive topics he favored encouraged his continuing appeal after his death. Deeply devoted to literary work, Danilevsky wrote in a variety of genres, from poetry to stories to translations of Shakespearean tragedies. Nevertheless, in the history of Russian literature as well as the memory of Russian readers, Danilevsky is known primarily for three of his many historical novels: Mirovich (1879), Kniazhna Tarakanova (1883; translated as The Princess Tarakanova. A Dark Chapter of Russian History, 1891) and Sozhzhennaia Moskva (1886; translated as Moscow in Flames, 1917).

Grigorii Petrovich Danilevsky was born on 14 April 1829 in the village of Danilovka, in the Iziumskii area (Uezd) of Khar'kov province. Descended from wealthy Ukrainian gentry, Danilevsky was proud of his ancestors and interested in his family...