Mikhail Nikolaevich Volkonsky (1860—1917) — the “Russian Dumas,” as his contemporaries called him — wrote more than twenty historical novels and novellas. A representative of an ancient family tracing its origin to Rurik, Prince Volkonsky was well known not only as an unsurpassed novelist, but also as a talented playwright and publisher of the famous magazine Niva. At the heart of the writer’s captivating works is the unofficial history of Russia, woven from numerous intrigues, mysteries, adventures, and mysticism. The novel “The Maltese Chain” tells of the final years of Catherine II’s reign and of Paul I, who succeeded her on the throne.