On the Eve

First published in 1860, this novel is set in Russia on the eve of the Crimean War. Elena Stakhova, a young woman restless in her family's Moscow and country circle, is courted by the sculptor Shubin and the historian Bersenev, but she is drawn to Dmitry Insarov, a Bulgarian exile devoted to freeing his country from Ottoman rule. The book follows their attachment, the limits of a Russian liberal household, and the pull of a political cause beyond private happiness. It is a social novel about a generation waiting for action, and about a woman who chooses a public struggle over a safe marriage at home.

Bound in pale blue cloth blocked in black and gilt with a design by Lauren Nassef. Gold slipcase.