Set in 1820s imperial Russia, Pushkin's novel in verse follows the emotions and destiny of three men - Onegin the bored fop, Lensky the minor elegiast, and a stylized Pushkin himself - and the fates and affections of three women - Tatyana the provincial beauty, her sister Olga, and Pushkin's merculiar Muse. Engaging, full of suspense, and varied in tone, it also portrays a large cast of the other characters and offers the reader many literary, philosophical, and autobiographical digressions, often in a highly satirical vein. Pushkin's own favourite work, Eugene Onegin shows him attempting to transform himself from romantic poet into realistic novelist.