A Bride of the Plains by Baroness Orczy

Description

A Bride of the Plains is a book by Baroness Orczy, first published in 1915. Set in Hungary, the novel departs from Orczy’s more widely known swashbuckling tales and instead presents a deeply personal, evocative story rooted in the customs, superstitions, and struggles of rural life in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The story follows the lives of Elsa and Andor, two lovers torn apart by war and social expectations, as Andor is conscripted into the army and Elsa is left behind to navigate betrayal and heartbreak. Through vivid descriptions and strong emotional undercurrents, Orczy explores themes of national identity, loyalty, and personal sacrifice. Drawing on her Hungarian heritage, she paints a sympathetic but unromanticized picture of peasant life, capturing both its charm and its hardships. The novel reflects contemporary anxieties about militarism and the loss of rural traditions, offering readers an insight into a way of life already beginning to vanish by the time of its publication. It is both a love story and a reflection on the tensions between duty and desire.

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