Yanovskaya Lidia Markovna (b. 1926) - literary critic, textologist, primary researcher of the works of Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Petrov and Mikhail Bulgakov. The works of Ilf and Petrov came to readers immediately, although in the early years they were indifferently hushed up by criticism. They unmistakably found those to whom they were addressed, confirming Ilf's oral dictum that if the work was printed, it would still find the reader. The popularity of Ilf and Petrov was absolutely wonderful. But, paradoxically, it was this popularity that prevented the growth of real, deep fame, prevented contemporaries from appreciating the full significance of the work of Ilf and Petrov. The book tells about the life and work of the masters of satire - I. Ilf and E. Petrov.