Pushkin's prose masterpiece, written in 1833, has attracted a torrent of critical attention, particularly in recent decades, when it has been shown to respond to a surprising variety of critical approaches. This study looks at contemporary reactions to Pushkin's tale before turning to Russian Formatist analyses and then to the plethora of more recent western and Russian critiques. A commentary to the text is followed by an assessment of a range of readings - old, new and previously untried - designed to test the limits of Pushkin's text.