The new is the well-forgotten old. Many books have been written about the great actress Faina Ranevskaya, but, nevertheless, many “blank spots” remained in her biography. Some periods are described in detail, about others almost nothing is known. Having summarized a large amount of material that had been collected for several years, Andrei Shlyakhov wrote a new book about Ranevskaya, about her stormy, eventful youth, full of creative quests and hopes, which are far from was always destined to come true. Readers will learn a lot about their favorite actress. This book is not a retelling of old material in a new way; it contains many new, previously unknown facts. “My biography is sewn from cotton rags,” said Faina Georgievna. “And I really wanted a velvet dress...”