The book tells about the life and writings of the great 15th century French playwright Jean Racine. During the narrative, with the help of authentic documents of the era, theological disputes, palace intrigues, literary battles, and household chores are recreated. The characters in this story are Louis XIV and his nobles, poets and actresses, philosophers and royal favorites, nuns and poisoners, contemporaries, predecessors and descendants. All of them help to unravel the mystery of Racine’s fate and Racine’s theater and thereby add food for thought about one of the central problems in culture: the relationship between religion, morality and art. The author of the book is translator and publicist Yulia Aleksandrovna Ginzburg (1941 2010), known to the reader for her translations of “ Caligula" by Camus and "Penits" by Pascal, "The Princess of Cleves" by Madame de Lafayette and "Ladies of the Camellias" by A. Dumas the Son. Yulia Alexandrovna's book about Racine remained unpublished. Its publication is a tribute to the memory of a wonderful person. The publishing layout is saved in PDF A4 format.