A.H. Tammsaare stands as a pivotal figure in Estonian literature, renowned for his monumental pentalogy, Truth and Justice. Deeply influenced by the Russian classics, his works explore profound themes shaped by his personal struggles and extensive self-study in multiple languages. Tammsaare's distinctive literary voice occupies a central position in the evolution of the Estonian novel, marking him as an author of significant European stature.
This monumental work by Estonia's greatest writer is a European classic which has for too long been neglected in the English-speaking world. It tells the story of how Tsarist Estonia developed into the First Republic through the experiences of a family.
This is the last novel by Estonia's greatest twentieth-century writer, Anton Tammsaare, and it constitutes a fitting summation of the themes that occupied him throughout his writing: the search for truth and social justice, and the struggle against corruption and greed.
A gripping love story, in which the classic love triangle takes a very untraditional form. The plot is centered on an Estonian university student who falls in love with a young Baltic German woman. The Baltic Germans had lost their aristocratic position since Estonia declared its independence. The young German earns her keep as a tutor for an Estonian family, and is not well-off. The young man, Oskar, starts courting the girl frivolously, but then falls head-over-heels for her. Before long, the prejudice that an Estonian and a Baltic German are of unequal standing stalks the couple. When Oskar goes to ask Erika's grandfather - a former manor lord - for the girl's hand, the meeting leaves a deep impression on him. Oskar finds himself wondering if he doesn't love the woman in Erika, but rather her grandfather; meaning, her noble descent. Does love depend solely upon the emotions of two young individuals, or are their origins, their social and cultural background actually the deciding factor?