The historical novel "Dating with Bonaparte" Bulat Okudzhava repeatedly called his best work. The events of the Patriotic War of 1812 are presented through the memories, biographies, and diaries of a variety of characters: members of the Opochinins and Volkoffs, the French singer Louise Bigarr, an Austrian emigrant, and a French intendant. This multi-voiced, musical, captivating, and distinctive mosaic creates historical truth—not only those who lived through the events of the past are implicated, but also the modern reader who gives due credit to Bulat Okudzhava’s remarkable talent.