“The Queen of Spades” is a short story by Alexander Pushkin. It was published in Biblioteka dlya chteniya, a Russian literary magazine, in 1834. It tells the story of Hermann, a quiet but passionate young military officer who becomes extremely greedy after hearing a story about a secret sequence of cards that guarantee victory when played. Hermann accosts the Countess, who alone knows the secret cards, and threatens her so harshly that she dies. Her ghost gives Hermann the cards, but Hermann makes a mistake and bets the wrong card, betting the queen instead of the ace. The queen winks at him, indicating it is the Countess’s revenge. After his major loss, Hermann loses his mind and is...
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