The Demonic Woman

Teffi (Nadezhda Alexandrovna Lokhvitskaya (1872—1952)) was a true “queen of Russian humor,” “Chekhov in a skirt,” as her contemporaries called her. She was a writer of stories and feuilletons, a poetess, and a memoirist. Teffi grew up in a very cultured family: her father worked on legal reform under Alexander II, and her sister was the early-deceased poetess Mirra Lokhvitskaya. Her fame can hardly be overstated: her works were read by Nikolai II himself; sweets and perfumes were named after Teffi. She lived through three revolutions and two world wars; in the 1920s she emigrated to Paris, yet she managed to keep her directness and her ability to laugh at ordinary everyday situations.

This collection includes Teffi’s best stories—topical and sharp; you read them like posts on social media. A subtle sense of humor is combined with deep psychological insight and compassion for her characters.