The name of Valerian Yakovlevich Svetlov (real name Ivchenko: 1860–1934) is the author of historical novels and stories, an enthusiastic researcher of the Caucasus and ancient cultures, and a traveler. art critic, was well known in pre-revolutionary Russia. Ballet critic, husband of ballerina V. A. Trefilova, collector and journalist, he collaborated in the magazines “Niva”, “Theater and Art”, “Star”, the Yearbook of the Imperial Theaters, the newspapers “Birzhevye Vedomosti”, “Slovo”, etc. Author works on the history of Russian ballet. In 1909 he took part in the organization of Diaghilev's Russian Seasons. In 1917 he emigrated to France. Died in Paris. The novel “The Adventuress,” published in this volume, tells the story of the mysterious beauty Maria Danilovna Hamilton, maid of honor of the Russian Empress Catherine I, who appeared in St. Petersburg at the end of the reign of Peter the Great and rose from complete obscurity to the pinnacle of wealth and power. Having information about the empress's past, she skillfully manipulated the associates of Peter I, and her beauty and charm allowed her to seduce the tsar himself... But there were sinister secrets in the life of the adventurer. which ultimately brought her to the chopping block.