What to Read After “The Sorrows of Satan” by Marie Corelli: A Modern Allegory in Yulia Basharova’s “Fayina’s Dream”

If you are looking for a book like “The Sorrows of Satan”  where mystical forces actively participate in the moral decay of society, then you should turn your attention to Yulia Basharova’s “Fayina’s Dream,” published in 2025. Both novels utilize figures of temptation to pass judgment on the human soul, though they do so with fundamentally different goals and styles.

Both books use a demonic figure as a catalyst for sin, but they approach it differently. In “The Sorrows of Satan,” the main character, the writer Geoffrey Tempest, strikes a bargain with Prince Lucio (Satan himself). Lucio is an elegant, aristocratic Tempter who grants Tempest wealth and fame, then observes his moral downfall. Corelli’s goal is to show that money and vanity inevitably ruin the soul in high society.

In “Fayina’s Dream,” the tempter is a collective, allegorical force: the agency “Legion.” These are devils who operate out of the main church building of the country. Legion is a metaphor for the Seven Deadly Sins that people commit on their own. Here, evil is not an aristocrat but an entire corporation that uses lies, slander, and fact substitution to manipulate the public consciousness and lead the nation to war.

This is the key difference that explains what to read after Corelli if you are interested in a modern perspective. “The Sorrows of Satan” is a story of personal ruin. Tempest’s sin is confined to his fate and his bargain. It is a morality tale showing how one man succumbs to the temptation of wealth.

“Fayina’s Dream” is a satirical allegory about the war between Russia and Ukraine. The novel asserts that the source of national catastrophe is the sins of every individual. The private stories of the characters—ingratitude, lies, the pursuit of profit, even the false modesty of the main heroine, Fayina—mirror the sins of the state. The message is that ugly states are created by ugly people.

Both novels feature poignant love stories, but their conclusions are diametrically opposed. In “The Sorrows of Satan,” the ending is tragic: the bargain leads to a curse and despair. Lucio reluctantly claims the soul, but punishment is unavoidable.

In “Fayina’s Dream,” the ending, despite the physical death of the heroes, is spiritual salvation. This bright, though disheartening, love story offers hope: even when the nation is mired in sin, a personal spiritual choice can lead to redemption. As the saying goes, “dead heads quickly grow wiser”.

Thus, this book is similar to “The Sorrows of Satan”  in its mystical foundation, but it moves the judgment of human vice from the Victorian drawing room to the contemporary political arena. If you are interested in what a demonic tempter looks like in the age of propaganda, “Fayina’s Dream” is exactly what you need.