Evgeny Lvovich Shvarts (1896–1958) was a talented playwright, writer, and screenwriter. He was born into a family of a doctor and a midwife. His parents moved frequently, so the boy did not really remember his hometown, Kazan. Shvarts's childhood years were spent in Maikop, where he graduated from a real school, after which he entered the law faculty of Moscow University. The future writer did not manage to graduate: the Civil War broke out. In the battles, Shvarts received a severe concussion, the effects of which troubled him for life. After the war, Evgeny Lvovich enrolled at the university in Rostov-on-Don, where he became interested in theater. At first, Shvarts acted in plays, and later, after moving to Petrograd, he tried his hand at writing. For some time, his works were published in newspapers and children's magazines. In 1929, Shvarts's play "Underwood" premiered for the first time at the Leninsky Academic Theater for Children. Evgeny Lvovich continued to work hard, and five years after the loud theatrical premiere, he was accepted into the Writers' Union of the USSR. For most of his creative path, Shvarts worked closely with the Comedy Theater, which was then headed by Nikolai Akimov. In 1940, the play "The Shadow" was performed at this theater — a significant work written by Shvarts at Akimov's initiative. A year later, the writer once again faced the horrible hardships of war — this time the Great Patriotic War. Shvarts remained in Leningrad, continuing to work in the theater until he was evacuated along with his wife to Kirov. During this period, he wrote several anti-fascist plays, including "One Night" — a play about besieged Leningrad. From Kirov, the playwright moved to Stalinabad, where the remaining troupe of the Comedy Theater settled after evacuation. Here he wrote the play "The Dragon". According to Nikolai Chukovsky, it became the best of all that was written by Shvarts. In the post-war years, the writer began writing scripts for films. Many of his works, such as "Ordinary Miracle", were adapted into films after his death. Despite the difficult path of life, Shvarts always remained a kind-hearted, bright person. He categorically disliked bad endings, so in his works, good always triumphed over evil. This collection includes his famous plays with fairy-tale motifs. In the preface to the edition, readers can find memories of Nikolai Chukovsky, who tells about the playwright himself and about Shvarts's work on his plays. The collection is adorned with bright illustrations created by contemporary artist Alexei Anatolyevich Shevchenko.
