First Love

First published in 1860, this novella is narrated by Vladimir Petrovich, who recalls the summer he was sixteen and staying at a Moscow dacha with his parents. He falls in love with Zinaida, the impoverished princess next door, who is several years older and surrounded by a circle of adult suitors she teases and rules. Vladimir moves from boyish worship to jealousy as he sees that her world is not a game he can enter. The setting is gardens, drawing rooms, and rides at dusk. The story is a study of first passion colliding with the hidden bargains of grown men and women.

Bound in dark red cloth, cover blocked in cream and orange with a design by Anna and Elena Balbusso. Gold slipcase.