An 1890 landmark of Polish realist fiction, set among the middle classes in Warsaw in the late 19th century. The heroine, Isabella, is a beauty for whom men risk everything. Richly plotted -- and wonderfully evocative of old Warsaw -- the novel is also a consideration of the value of revolution. This translation is a "Central European Classic", a series conceived by journalist Timothy Garton Ash during conversations with European writers, many of whom named as "masterpieces" books never before published in English.  (PLD32, $19.95)