A tale of intrigue, deception, murder and retribution, Boris Godunov charts the rise and fall of an ambitious prince who cannot avoid facing the consequences of his dark past. Based on the historical figure of the nobleman Boris Godunov, who seized power from Ivan the Terrible's successor in sixteenth-century Russia, and partly inspired by Shakespeare's Macbeth, Alexander Pushkin's 1825 play showcases the author's mastery of verse and dramatic form. Also included in this volume are Pushkin's celebrated four Little Tragedies: Mozart and Salieri, The Miserly Knight, The Stone Guest and A Feast During the Plague.