He made his literary debut in 1842 with prose tales, and only in 1855 did he publish his lyric and epic verses in various newspapers.

His best poetical efforts, beautiful as they are in external form, are characterless, and remind one of Zhukovsky's, in that they were influenced by foreign or Russian poets--Lermontoff, for instance.
But they have not a trace of genuine, unaffected feeling, of vivid, burning passion, of inspiration.

His best work is his prose historical romance, "Prince Serebryany," which gives a lively and faithful picture of Ivan the Terrible, his court, and life in his day.

The dramas already mentioned are almost if not equally famous in Russia, though less known abroad.

"Prince Serebryany," and "War and Peace" by the former author's more illustrious cousin, Count L.N.Tolstoy, are the best historical novels in the Russian language.
Another poet of this period was Apollon Nikolaevitch Maikoff, born in 1821, the son of a well-known painter.