Jules Verne wrote The Courier of the Czar in 1876, according to Michael Strogoff. It is regarded as one of Verne's best books by critic Leonard S. Davidow. Jules Verne hasn't written a greater book than this, according to Davidow, and it is rightfully regarded as one of the most exciting stories ever written. It is not science fiction, in contrast to several of Verne's other books, but rather uses a scientific phenomenon as a plot element. A play based on the book was later created by Verne and Adolphe d'Ennery. The play's incidental music was composed by Franz von Suppé in 1893 and Alexandre Artus in 1880. The book has had numerous adaptations for movies, television shows, and cartoons. Michael Strogoff, a native of Omsk, age 30, serves as a messenger for Tsar Alexander II of Russia. Strogoff is dispatched to Irkutsk to inform the governor of the treacherous former colonel Ivan Ogareff, who was once degraded and exiled by this Tsar brother, who is now a traitor. Now that he has the governor's trust, he plans to betray both of them and Irkutsk to the Tartar hordes in order to exact revenge.