The Same Old Story (1847) tells the story of Alexander Aduyev who leaves the idyllic setting of his home in the country to seek his fortune and make a career in St. Petersburg under the guidance and protection of his uncle, a government official. Such is the beginning of this "ordinary story". Alexander Aduyev, a "romantic three times over" (to quote Vissarion Belinsky) gradually sheds his idyllic notions and develops into a heartless and calculating climber.