About the book: 1978 / According to N. Stanev, the idea for the novel arose in 1967 as “The Tale of an Eastern Man and a Western Lady,” the heroes of which were initially supposed to be a Russian soldier Vanya and the beautiful Polish woman, later replaced by a Bulgarian and a foreigner. In the early versions, fantastic and romantic elements prevailed: the hero’s conversations with the knight of Frederick Barbarossa on the lunar path, the heroine’s attempt to poison the artist (the author even intended to title the story “Theophano the Poisoner”), etc. By the beginning of 1975, the story took on strict realistic outlines, when the writer finally understood its theme..