A enviable bride who didn’t obey her parents’ will, ran off with an officer, basked in luxury and love—while I got the leftovers from someone else’s feast. My husband squandered money that wasn’t his, no one welcomes me under our native, impoverished roof, my daughter is set to be taken away, and creditors demand impossible things.
If only I could hear some kind advice—repent, give in… But screw the well-wishers. No matter what bottom I start from, I’ll swim, I’ll rise from the ashes—and woe to the one who ends up in my way.
A deeply cynical heroine. A realistic depiction of provincial life in the 19th century, friends and enemies, entrepreneurship and enlightenment, magic and superstition, peasant and landowner life. A dark story at first, in which reason and (unexpectedly) love triumph over hopelessness—mature, strong, and without emotional rollercoasters.