From the thick fog of Petersburg, the “decadent Madonna,” Zinaida Gippius (1869—1945), wove her mystical social novel about the wonderful Yurul—a nobleman who lives for himself and for pleasure. The charming hero is perfectly skilled at “playing at love” and tailoring morality to his own advantage. While demons of revolution are only gathering strength, and luxurious drawing rooms greedily absorb the whispers of their nervous lodgers, he still has a little time to realize himself as a “damned doll” being held in someone else’s hands…
Motifs of decorative elements from the mansions on Radishcheva Street (formerly Preobrazhenskaya) in St. Petersburg were used in the cover design.