Lydia Korneevna Chukovskaya (1907–1996) was a literary scholar, memoirist, critic, writer, and poet whose creative legacy is diverse yet integral. Everything she created echoes her personal life experiences as the daughter of a famous father, a friend of many celebrated contemporaries, an editor, and a human rights activist. Such are her 'Notes on Anna Akhmatova' and her monograph 'In the Editor's Laboratory.'

The works of fiction by Lydia Chukovskaya included in this collection—the stories 'Sofya Petrovna,' 'Descent Underwater,' and 'Dash'—were created directly in the wake of the tragic events that befell the author and capture the personal dramas of the era through the eyes of an eyewitness and participant.