Many mathematical ideas and concepts are reflected on the pages of fiction books. What questions of mathematics and why did famous writers touch upon in their works? What tasks did the heroes of J. Swift, L. Carroll, J. Verne, M. Reed, J. London, A. Conan Doyle, A. Pushkin, F. Dostoevsky, A. Chekhov have to solve? Did they successfully cope with these tasks? How correct were the authors themselves in their assessments and accurate in their calculations - people who are often far from mathematics? In addition to curious observations, sketches and examples, the book contains more than a hundred original entertaining problems for plots borrowed from popular literary works. Some of the tasks and examples were published in the journal Science and Life in 2008-2010. The book is addressed to everyone who loves mathematics and literature, regardless of age.