Mikhail Zagoskin was one of the most prolific authors of his time. His complete works were published in 1889 and comprised seven volumes of short stories, novels, comedies, and historical novels. His first historical novel “Yury Miloslavsky or the Russians in 1612” was a bestseller: it was popular across all classes of society, and Vissarion Belinsky recommended it as “useful reading for children from seven to twelve years old.”

Born into the family of Penza landowners Nikolay and Natalya in the village of Ramzay, Mokshansky Uyezd, Mikhail Zagoskin was homeschooled and at the age of 11 wrote his first tragedy “Leon and Zydeya”. When Mikhail Zagoskin was 13, he went to St. Petersburg. In 1812, he joined the militia, was wounded near Polotsk, and was awarded the Order of St. Anna, 3rd class.

Mikhail Zagoskin turned to the genre of the novel — which was new not only for him but for Russian literature in general — already as an experienced playwright. According to the memoirs of Sergey Aksakov, the novel was “an open field where [Zagoskin’s] imagination could run free.”

In “Yury Miloslavsky”, Zagoskin explored the war of 1611–1612, the formation of the volunteer army led by Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky, the ousting of the Polish occupiers, and the theme of Russian patriotism. Sergey Aksakov, well-acquainted with Zagoskin, described the novel as “unique, original, and utterly Russian”, and the writer himself as a good-natured, cheerful, and “excessively frank” man, which confirms the sincerity of the patriotic pathos in his novel.

Zagoskin attributed his apt and melodious use of the Russian language and ability to write vivid dialogues to the time spent in the countryside near Penza as a child. The novel achieved recognition thanks to the vivid image of the virtuous protagonist — Yury, son of a boyar — and the fine balance between fiction and historical truth.

During the writer’s lifetime alone, the novel was republished eight times and translated into six languages, including English, French, and Italian. In 1831, a production of Alexander Shakhovskoy’s interpretation of the novel was staged at the Maly Theater in Moscow.

Later, Mikhail Zagoskin wrote several comedies, novellas, and historical novels, but none of them achieved the fame of “Yury Miloslavsky”. According to Dmitry Svyatopolk-Mirsky, this novel remained popular for about a century and “set a fashion” for historical works inspired by Sir Walter Scott.