Among historical novelists of the early 19th century there was no more popular name than Lev Zhdanov (1864–1951). Most of his books are devoted to little-known pages of Russian history. The six-volume collected works of the writer include his best historical novels - chronicles and stories. Almost all have been out of print for over eighty years. The third volume includes the historical story “In the Days of Troubles,” the chronicle novel “The Old Days of Siberia,” as well as documentary materials on the case of Tsarevich Alexei, son of Peter I.