The Fiery Angel
Bryusov's most famous prose works are the historical novels "The Altar of Victory" (depicting life in Ancient Rome) and "The Fiery Angel" (depicting the psychological climate of 16th century Germany). The latter tells the story of a knight's attempts to win the love of a young woman whose spiritual integrity is seriously undermined by her participation in occult practices and her dealings with unclean forces. It served as the basis for Sergei Prokofiev's opera "The Fiery Angel".