The Cavalry Maiden

Dmitry Savvatievich Dmitriev (1848-1915) was a Russian writer and playwright. Born in Moscow to a merchant family, he received a strict religious upbringing; he was taught to read and write by a nun. From the early 1870s, he worked in the library of Moscow University, simultaneously publishing short stories, essays, and scenes from folk life. In the 1880s, he turned to drama, writing plays for "folk stages" that were influenced by A.N. Ostrovsky. Beginning in the late 1890s, Dmitriev devoted himself primarily to historical fiction, writing over sixty novels and short stories. After the death of his only son in 1908, he was ordained a priest.
In the novel "The Cavalry Maiden," the author explores the extraordinary fate of Nadezhda Andreyevna Durova (1783-1866), a woman who defied the conventions of her time and class prejudices by joining the Russian army and rising to the rank of officer. Her life, full of courage and determination, inspired the admiration of her contemporaries. Alexander Pushkin not only wrote glowing praises of her but also inspired her literary work, making Durova's memoirs a valuable historical and literary treasure.
Dmitriev's novel combines a fictional reconstruction of events with a vivid biographical narrative, revealing the image of a warrior woman whose life became a symbol of fortitude and fidelity to her chosen path.