Contemporaries called Teffi (Nadezhda Aleksandrovna Lokhvitskaya, after her husband Buchinskaya) “the most elegant pearl of Russian humor.” During her long literary life, Teffi published over thirty books - prose, drama, and poetry. But her fame came from her humorous stories, which were equally loved by readers of different ages, education and social status. Among those who paid attention to her writings was the Emperor Nicholas II himself.