In the book of the professor of Slavic studies at the University of Sev. Carolina (USA) Paul Debreceni, Pushkin's prose is considered in close connection with the theoretical views of the era on the place of a prosaic kind of literature. The researcher's focus invariably remains on the "potential difference" between the original author's intention and the reality of artistic embodiment. This method allows the scientist to show how Pushkin, remaining an adherent of "naked" prose as an "unvarnished" genre, turns to poetic techniques in his prose creations. The historical background of the study was the tradition of European prose, which was formed in the 1820-30s of the XIX century in France.