First published 2018
Ten-year-old Nikolenka lives on his family's estate in mid-nineteenth century Russia. The son of a wealthy landowner, he moves through his privileged world with the complex emotions of childhood. His days bring lessons with tutors, interactions with servants, and the social rituals of aristocratic life. Yet beneath these surface events, Nikolenka struggles with the universal tensions of growing up. He feels innocent one moment and worldly the next. Boldness alternates with fear. His curious mind constantly questions the adult world around him, trying to make sense of relationships, social hierarchies, and his own changing self. Through Nikolenka's eyes, we see how a child processes the everyday dramas of family life and social expectations. The boy's internal world proves as rich and complicated as the external one he inhabits. His thoughts reveal the particular intensity with which children experience what adults might dismiss as ordinary moments.
Genres: family-life, historical-fiction, coming-of-age, 19th-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: coming-of-age, family-secrets
Setting: Russia
Period: Mid-19th Century
98 pages · Paperback · Independently published