Pushkin's 'The Queen of Spades' was published in early 1834. At that time, the prototype of the old countess Anna Fyodorovna, Princess Natalia Petrovna Golitsyna, was already over 90 years old. The story of the three 'magic cards', which quickly became popular, was told to Alexander Sergeyevich by her nephew Sergey Golitsyn. But let's start from the beginning.

Princess Natalia Golitsyna, known in high society, lived nearly a century. She received an excellent education in England, was intelligent, resourceful, and beautiful. In 1766, she successfully married Prince Golitsyn and led a comfortable life. Her husband indulged her in everything and spent large sums on her. Natalia Petrovna loved gambling and played whist and preference at night, often losing her husband's money. However, luck was not always on her side.

Once in Paris, she found herself in a difficult situation: she lost all her money and promised to repay the debt in three days, but her husband, tired of her extravagance, refused to help her. It was a scandal! Then Natalia Petrovna turned to the famous adventurer Saint-Germain. Although the count himself was broke, he shared with her the secret of the three 'magic' cards, taking her promise to keep it a secret. Soon the princess won back her losses and shared this in high society.

Over time, the story was forgotten, and Natalia Petrovna returned to Russia, where her life went on quietly until her nephew Sergey Golitsyn lost everything in Moscow. The young man was in despair. The princess broke her promise to Saint-Germain and revealed the secret of the three cards to her nephew. Sergey won back his losses and told this story to Pushkin. These events formed the basis of the famous tale.