"The Queen Of Spades" by Aleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin is a novella published in 1834. Hermann, a Russian army officer, becomes obsessed with learning the secret of three winning cards from an elderly countess. His greed leads him to terrorize the old woman, causing her death. When her ghost appears to reveal the secret cards, Hermann risks everything at the gambling table—but the final card brings an unexpected and devastating surprise that shatters his mind. (This is an automatically generated summary.)