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I enjoyed this 19th-century comedy of manners about the marriage market. Witty & bleakly humorous with an intriguing style. The prose & poetry sections depict young Cecily's "double life"—her corseted/cosseted real-life, interspersed with the verse that she writes alone at night when she feels free. The comparison to Jane Austen is inevitable, but the anger Pavlova feels about the condition of women is more readily felt in the writing. #netgalley

So says a mother of her daughter of a marriageable age. 19th-century Russian aristocratic mothers give some of the Jane Austen mothers a run for their money!

(The truth about whether Cécile is "exactly what I wanted to make of her" is of course more complicated ?)

Pavlova originally wrote this Classic of Russian Literature ,1848,being published this year in the USA, and its premise is so perfect for the times we are living through. This is a work of wit and depth, originally written to show the duality of women in society and the mores of aristocratic society. This story will stay with you, the emotional range done precisely and masterfully. Herxwords are perfected crafted for this novel. It's fantastic

Beautifully written but disturbing. It's a powerful commentary on women and society's rules. I enjoyed it as much today as I did in my 20s and think I have a deeper appreciation of the subject today. Women plotting and scheming to marry off a young girl for their own selfish reasons and her so well trained in the art of being a proper lady she may as well not exist but in her dreams. Oh and much love for the taqueria 💗

Over twenty years ago I took a class in college called Women in Russian writing because I needed a few units outside of psychology and it sounded interesting. I don't usually reread books but I was curious what I'd think of this book as a woman in her 40's compared to a girl in her early 20's.