The book was published under the pseudonym V. Novodvorsky. It tells the story of the sale of Alaska by Russia in the adventure-detective genre. The first edition (with comments) of the novels of the famous Russian literary critic V.V. Sipovsky (1872–1930), the author of numerous textbooks and anthologies, as well as studies on the history of Russian literature. Adventure novel “Crown of Spades to Jack” is a worthy example of the fiction of that era. It may be of interest not only to a lover of the genre, but also to arouse special interest among specialists - it is a kind of literary game and reflects the author’s desire to engage in debate about the goals and objectives of philological science.