A summary of "Count Cagliostro" by Alexei Tolstoy Automatic translate

The story was written between 1919 and 1921 — begun in Odessa and completed in Paris — and first published in 1922 in a Berlin collection under the title "Moonlit Dampness." It was included in the writer’s collected works under the title "Count Cagliostro." The plot is based on a real historical figure: the Italian adventurer Giuseppe Balsamo, known in the 18th century as Count Cagliostro, a hypnotist and self-proclaimed magician who visited St. Petersburg in 1780.

In the Smolensk district, in the Bely Klyuch estate, lives a young nobleman named Alexei Alexeevich Fedyashev — nineteen years old, dreamy and inclined to solitude. He left military service with relief and settled here with his aunt, Fedosya Ivanovna. His days are quiet: horseback riding, fishing, reading. But gradually his aunt notices something is wrong with her nephew: he is pale, absent-minded, and pensive.

The reason is revealed six months after the move. While exploring a boarded-up old house, Fedyashev discovers a large portrait of the estate’s late owner, Princess Praskovya Pavlovna Tulupova, in an empty room. The portrait is moved to the library, and from that moment on, the image of the beauty on the canvas completely captivates the young man’s imagination. He imbues the image with every imaginable virtue, sees Praskovya Pavlovna in his dreams, and falls into a state he himself describes as hypochondria, a state of unquenchable passion for "sleepless dreams."

Auntie receives a letter from a relative in St. Petersburg, Pavel Petrovich Fedyashev. He tells of a certain Count Phoenix, also known as Cagliostro, the man who cured Princess Volkonskaya’s sick pearl, enlarged the ruby in General Bibikov’s ring, and removed the shadow of Lady-in-Waiting Golovina’s late husband from a locket. The Count fled St. Petersburg to escape Potemkin, who wanted to kidnap his beautiful wife. Fedyashev listens to the letter with shining eyes: he dreams of begging Cagliostro to bring the portrait to life.

The next day, a thunderstorm rages over the estate. In the midst of the storm, a broken-down carriage pulls up to the house — travelers ask for shelter for the night. They turn out to be Count Phoenix himself, his wife, and their Nubian servant, Margadon. Over dinner, it is revealed that the heavyset, purple-faced, bejeweled gentleman is Cagliostro. His young wife, Maria — blonde, blue-eyed, and a Bohemian by birth — is quiet and sad.

Early in the morning, Fedyashev meets Maria in the garden by the pond: she’s crying, listening to the cuckoo. They begin a conversation — she confesses that she fears and hates her husband, that she married when she was a child, and that she has no one close to her in the world. Fedyashev nearly reaches for his sword, but at that moment, Cagliostro appears from behind the linden trees and takes his wife away.

The blacksmith announces that he won’t be able to repair the carriage for at least two days. Fedyashev orders no other blacksmiths to be called. At breakfast, Cagliostro announces that he will perform a "perfect materialization" of Praskovia Pavlovna’s portrait that evening. Preparations begin: Margadon takes down the portrait, spreads a carpet, and brings a net and a musical instrument. Fedyashev is ordered to go to bed, not eat or drink until dusk, and then drink a bitter tincture of rhubarb and holly.

That evening, by candlelight, Cagliostro draws a circle with chalk depicting the signs of the zodiac and the Kabbalah, invoking the spirits of air, earth, water, and fire. Maria sings behind Fedyashev. The portrait engulfs in silent flames — and Praskovya Pavlovna’s head lifts from the canvas. She asks for his hand, Fedyashev offers it, and the woman leaps from the canvas onto the carpet.

The materialized Praskovya Pavlovna turns out to be a coy, cold, and spiteful creature. She twirls in front of a mirror, bosses around the servant girl Fimka, threatens to whip all the servants, and doesn’t let Fedyashev out of her sight. He realizes with disgust that his dream has turned into a "vile cadaver." Meanwhile, in the library, Cagliostro tells Maria that the young man preferred her to a vile ghost and threatens to lock his wife "in a bubble" if she doesn’t love him. Maria replies that he has no power over love.

Fedyashev decides to take action. He pretends to take Praskovya Pavlovna to bed, but instead holds a burning candelabra to the curtain — a fire breaks out. In the confusion, he runs to the outbuilding, where Maria stands on the threshold. He asks if she loves him. She throws her arms around his neck and replies, "I love you." Fedyashev sends her to wait in the gazebo on the island, and he returns to the house with his sword drawn.

In the smoke-filled library, he sees a charred figure in a chair — the remains of Praskovia Pavlovna. She lunges at him, but retreats before the blade and disappears behind the bookcases. Margadon reaches for the knife — Fedyashev slashes him in the shoulder. Cagliostro jumps out the window and runs to the ponds. Near the bridge leading to the gazebo, he fails to notice that the middle section of the decking has been raised, and he falls into the water with a splash. The servants pull him out, tie him up with ropes, and the next morning send him off on a cart to Smolensk.

Maria lies unconscious in the gazebo. Fedyashev crosses to the islet, lifts her, and kisses her tear-stained face. She whispers, "Don’t leave me."

The fire is extinguished. Only the library burns, and with it, the portrait of Praskovya Pavlovna. Maria falls ill with a fever that keeps her between life and death for over a month. Fedyashev himself rushes to Smolensk for a doctor, barely sleeps, loses weight, and a white streak appears in his hair. One evening, he dozes in a chair by her bed — and suddenly sees Maria’s wide-open blue eyes. She asks for the window to be opened. Bird whistles fill the bedroom, a cuckoo calls three times in the distance, and Maria whispers, "Thank you for everything."

She recovers. Fedyashev and Maria can’t stand being apart for a moment. One August night, sitting by the fireplace, they see a shadow slowly disappearing in the depths of the room. Maria rushes to Fedyashev, embraces him, and repeats, "I won’t give you up." Everything imaginary and complicated between them crumbles — all that remains is lips pressed to lips and eyes gazing into each other’s.