In the title piece of this collection a party of guests wonder at the great comet which has appeared in the sky, and give their predictions of what this ill omen portends for the Earth. Mixing elements of the Gothic with fantasy, this piece marks the dawn of Russian science fiction, and constitutes a prime example of the creativity and imagination of Odoevsky's story-telling. Including the much-loved children's story 'The Little Town in the Snuffbox', the mysteries 'Imbroglio' and 'The Black Glove', and the artistic portrait 'Beethoven's Last Quartet', this volume of Odoevsky's short stories represents some of the finest of early-nineteenth-century Russian short fiction.