According to the opinion of Sergei Sossinsky, although "Sergeyev-Tsensky does not belong to Russia's top classical authors, he might have [been] if he had not had the misfortune of living half his life under Communist rule.

[1] At this time, his family had moved to Tambov where Sergei's father received a post in the government.

In 1892, the future writer entered the Glukhov Teachers' Institute (Chernigov province) at the expense of the state, from which he graduated with honors in 1895.

A story goes that a neighbor who helped him milk a newly acquired cow soon became his wife, Khristina – a college graduate and a gifted pianist.

[1] The author turned to historical subjects in 1923, but with the communist rule, it became harder to write freely on any topic.