This captivating novel is the summation of Odoevsky"s views and interests in many fields: Gothic literature, romanticism, mysticism, the occult, social responsibility, Westernization, utopia and anti-utopia. Compared to The Decameron, to Hoffman"s Serapion Brethren, and to the Platonic dialogues, Russian Nights is a unique mixture of romantic and society tales framed by Odoevsky"s musings on strands of Russian thought and his own obsessions.