Tėffi, N. A. 1872-1952

Nadezhda Alexandrovna Teffi (Russian: Наде́жда Алекса́ндровна Тэ́ффи; 21 May [O.S. 9 May] 1872 – 6 October 1952) was a Russian humorist writer. Together with Arkady Averchenko, she was one of the prominent authors of the magazine Novyi Satirikon. Her style is distinguished by two 'faces' of writing- the serious and the satirical, which she alternated between and often fused together to create a unique output of personal and political commentaries. Teffi's gift for humour was considered anomalous for a woman of her time, particularly due to well-known thinkers such as Henri Bergson and Arthur Schopenhauer who had declared that women were not capable of a sense of humour. Teffi would prove such thinkers wrong by skyrocketing to fame throughout Russia with her satirical writings, so much so that she had candies and perfume named after her.