First Love (1860) is widely considered Turgenev’s most personal and perfectly achieved short work. A sixteen-year-old boy falls desperately in love with a captivating young woman of twenty-one who moves in next door — only to discover, in a scene of devastating power, the true nature of her secret attachment. Turgenev himself said it was his favorite among his own works and the most autobiographical.
The accompanying stories display his characteristic lyrical mastery. Download the free EPUB and read one of the Russian 19th century’s most beautiful shorter works.