How is a book born? What prompted the author to take up the pen, who served as the prototype of the famous literary hero? We can't always answer those questions. Time often hides from us the details of the creative process of writers of past eras, does not allow us to look into their laboratory, which is so important for the most complete understanding of the meaning of the work. The book tells about the victory over Time, about how the discoverers of the "literary lands" conquer the forgotten from Time, return to us the lost spiritual values ​ ​ of past eras. Readers will make a kind of journey to the origins of famous works of world literature, get acquainted with their creation, with the socio-historical situation in which they originated.