The original idea for the story came to Leskov after he visited
Lake Ladoga and the
Valaam Monastery in 1872 . In January Leskov sent the first version of the story, entitled
Black Earth Telemachus (Черноземный Телемак) to
The Russian Messenger, but
Mikhail Katkov rejected it. In March Leskov sent the manuscript to
Fyodor Dostoyevsky's
Grazhdanin magazine, again to no avail. According to N.A. Lyubimov of
The Russian Messenger, "Apart from some episodes, with Filaret and Saint Sergius, the whole thing appeared to [Katkov] more like a rough bulk of material for some future working upon… rather than the finished work, describing something real." As critic Boris Bukhstab later remarked, the story could have been construed as aimed against
dvoryanstvo, weak and 'unmanly', according to the protagonist. This could have particularly upset Katkov, who had had disputes with Leskov previously, on that particular matter.
Dedication The original version of
The Enchanted Wanderer came out with a dedication to Sergey Egorovich Kushelev, an infantry general, close to the Russian Court, and Leskov's friend. "In the Autumn of 1872 as I've written
The Sealed Angel… Adjutant-General Sergey Egorovich Kushelev visited me, asking for a manuscript to be taken to the Court so that
Empress consort Maria Aleksanrovna could read it. This started my friendship with several houses which at the time regarded beau monde, particularly the Kushelev house where I've been received as a friend. There I met a lot of interesting people," Leskov remembered. ==Synopsis==