This article gives an analysis of forgotten novels of D. N. Mamin - Sibiryak such as «Wild stream»(1886), «Early sunrises»(1896), «Falling stars»(1899), which are all parts of Petersburg cycle. The article states that these novels are not only similar because of the same scene depicted and the type of character. They are united by the appeal to the Russian classical literature. Intertextual codes appear as some kind of clue to the interpretation of these novels and reveal the individuality of the creative penmanship of the Uralian writer.