Among historical novelists of the early 19th century, there was no more popular name than Lev Grigorievich Zhdanov (1864-1951). Most of his books are devoted to little-known pages of Russian history. The six-volume collected works of the writer included his best historical novels, chronicles and novels. In the first volume, readers will get acquainted with Zhdanov's dilogy "Tsar John the Terrible" (novels "The Third Rome" and "Terrible Time") and the story from the era of imposture "The Legacy of the Terrible."