Voltairean

The second half of the XVIII century. The young nobleman Sergei Gorbatov, forced to live in Paris for eight years, returns to St. Petersburg, but even arrival in his home cannot dispel melancholy. In Paris, due to youthful stupidity, Sergei lost the confidence of the woman whom he wanted to make his wife. And this is only the beginning of his misfortunes, because in St. Petersburg he managed to configure Plato Zubov against himself - the favorite of Empress Catherine, who had gained all the fullness of power after the death of Potemkin. Pavel, Pavel, who became a friend of Sergey, but Tsesarevich, despite his status, the heir to the throne, could save the situation, too flexible and does not want to openly resist Zubov ...
This novel is the second of the five books of the epic of the Four Generations Chronicle, telling about the noble Gorbatov gender. Through the history of one family, the author shows various periods of Russian and world history