“The Queen of Spades means secret malevolence.”
Chapter 1
A group of young officers gathers after a card game, discussing Hermann, a German engineer who watches others gamble but never plays himself. They joke about his self-control. That night, Hermann hears the story of Countess Anna Fedotovna, an elderly woman who supposedly knows a secret three-card winning formula from her youth in Paris.
Chapter 2
Hermann becomes obsessed with the Countess’s secret. He begins lurking near her house, catching the attention of her ward, Lizaveta Ivanovna. He sends her love letters, though his true goal is to gain access to the Countess. Lizaveta, lonely and mistreated, falls for his deception.
Chapter 3
Hermann sneaks into the Countess’s bedroom and confronts her, demanding the secret. The shock kills her. At her funeral, Hermann imagines the corpse winking at him. Later, her ghost appears to him, revealing the three cards: “Three, Seven, Ace”—but warns him to bet only once per night and marry Lizaveta.
Chapter 4
Ignoring the ghost’s conditions, Hermann uses the secret at a high-stakes game. He wins big on the first two nights (Three and Seven), but on the third night, the Ace transforms into the Queen of Spades. The ghostly Countess smirks as he loses everything. Hermann goes mad, endlessly muttering the cards’ sequence.
Key ideas
- The destructive power of obsession and greed
- The blurred line between reality and the supernatural
- Social commentary on Russian aristocracy
- The consequences of deception and betrayal
- Fate versus free will
Notable Adaptations
| Year | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1890 | Opera by Tchaikovsky | Expanded romantic subplot |
| 1949 | Film by Thorold Dickinson | British noir adaptation |
| 1982 | Soviet TV film | Faithful to original text |
Who should read this book?
- Fans of psychological thrillers with gothic elements
- Readers interested in 19th-century Russian literature
- Those who appreciate compact, masterfully crafted narratives