Our Own Set: A Novel

In Short

Set in 1870 Rome, this novel explores the rigid social hierarchies of the Austrian feudal aristocracy living abroad. Young, naive Zinka Sterzl is drawn into the fashionable orbit of Count Sempaly, a charismatic attache who pursues her without intending to cross class lines. Surrounded by scheming matriarchs, artist-generals, and elite gossips, Zinka's innocent affection becomes the center of public scandal. When her protective brother Cecil intervenes, the resulting social fallout and violent duel shatter her family. The story survives as a sharp, unsparing anatomy of upper-class hypocrisy and the emotional toll exacted by aristocratic exclusivity.

The Story

The narrative opens in 1870 Rome, where high society is divided between political factions, and the Austrian feudal aristocracy gathers for the winter season. Among the diplomats and nobles is Cecil Sterzl, a brilliant, hard-working embassy secretary who takes life seriously and compensates for his fashionable, idle colleagues. His young sister, Zinka, arrives in Rome, possessing a refreshing innocence that captures the attention of Count Sempaly, a handsome attache and heir presumptive to a princely title. Sempaly charms Zinka with attentive chivalry and playful bets, while her brother Cecil, blind to the rigid prejudices of their set, unwisely permits the intimacy, believing his beloved sister worthy of any social elevation.

As Lent approaches, Zinka’s vulgar aunt, Baroness Wolnitzka, and her eccentric cousin Slawa descend upon Rome, their clumsy attempts at social climbing drawing mockery from the elite set. Meanwhile, Zinka's unguarded outings with Sempaly ignite malicious gossip. The aristocrats around them—including the domineering Countess Ilsenbergh and the sharp-tongued Madame de Gandry—view Zinka as an upstart adventuress. Pressured by his high-ranking family to make a brilliant match, Sempaly hesitates. Though he impulsively proposes to Zinka in a secluded alley during an early-morning garden encounter, he demands that the engagement remain secret.

Public scandal erupts when a local gossip periodical publishes a damning piece about Zinka’s night out with Sempaly. Trapped between family expectations and public shame, Sempaly confirms the engagement to his family only after being backed into a corner, triggering furious resistance from his elder brother, the prince. The strain transforms Cecil Sterzl; wounded by aristocratic condescension and desperate to defend his sister's honor, he grows defensive and bitter.

The crisis culminates in a tragic duel fought over Zinka's ruined reputation. Cecil is severely wounded and carried home to the palazetto to die, shattering Zinka's world. Grief over her brother's violent end is soon compounded by the death of her mother. Broken by the cruelty of the Roman set, Zinka retreats permanently to her quiet country estate, spending her years in solitary benevolence and caring for others, while the high-society circle moves on, untouched by the lives it destroyed.

How It Unfolds

The Roman season begins Austrian nobles gather in Rome's glacial palazzos for the winter, where the diligent diplomat Cecil Sterzl earns the respect of his superiors while tolerating the idle, handsome colleagues who treat the embassy like a high-society club.

A dangerous courtship Count Sempaly begins pursuing Cecil’s young sister Zinka, drawing her into a playful, intimate camaraderie that the innocent girl mistakingly trusts as genuine devotion, while her brother proudly overlooks the social divide between them.

Intruders and elite scorn The arrival of Zinka's garish aunt, Baroness Wolnitzka, highlights the family's lack of high-society polish, fueling the malicious whispers of the aristocratic circle who view Zinka's public outings with Sempaly as an unpardonable indiscretion.

A secret promise Discovered alone together in a garden at dawn, Sempaly impulsively declares his intention to marry Zinka, but immediately demands that she keep their betrothal hidden from the public and her own family.

The trap closes After a scandal sheet attacks Zinka's character, Sempaly is forced to admit the engagement to his proud family, prompting a furious backlash from his brother and pushing Cecil Sterzl to demand satisfaction for his sister's honor.

Tragedy and retreat Cecil is mortally wounded in the resulting duel, and following his death and her mother's passing, Zinka abandons society entirely, choosing a life of quiet charity far removed from the cold world of her former suitors.

The People

• Zinka Sterzl wants simple affection and joy, but her naive trust in Sempaly leaves her vulnerable to society's cruelest judgments; after losing her brother to a duel of honor, she becomes a quiet, devoted recluse.
• Count Sempaly wants the freedom to indulge his romantic whims, but his cowardice and submission to family status prevent him from protecting the girl he claims to love, leading directly to tragedy.
• Cecil Sterzl wants to protect his sister and excel through merit, but his rising bitterness against aristocratic hypocrisy drives him into a fatal confrontation to defend Zinka's reputation.
• General von Klinger wants to paint and maintain his kindly position as a family friend, but he is forced to witness the devastating consequences of Sempaly’s vacillation and Cecil's death.
• Baroness Wolnitzka wants to push her way into elite circles through shameless bluster, but her crass social climbing only heightens the snobbery directed at Zinka.

In Its Own Voice

"Men do not jest about the women whose names are sacred to them," he said with the pedantic chivalry, which always provoked his colleague's opposition.

Cecil Sterzl defends his high moral code to his frivolous fellow diplomats at the Austrian embassy.

"What a pity it is that you should not be here. It would give us the greatest pleasure to have you with us."

Baroness Wolnitzka writes deceptive, boastful letters home to Bohemia to excite the envy of her relatives.

"Well! and a pretty state the world would soon come to if every man who lets a charming adventuress entrap him into an indiscretion were to pay for it by marrying her!"

Prince Sempaly reacts with outrage upon learning that his brother intends to marry Zinka to settle a public scandal.

What It's Really About

Underneath its glittering backdrop of Roman salons and studio calls, the novel presents a grim study of how rigid class systems corrupt human feeling. It explores the destructive nature of social vanity, showing how an elite caste protects its boundaries by destroying anyone who tries to cross them. Zinka’s innocence is treated not as a virtue, but as a target for predatory charm and societal malice. The narrative exposes the cowardice hidden beneath polished manners, contrasting Cecil's genuine, rigid integrity with Sempaly's weak-willed flexibility. Ultimately, the book argues that high society's obsession with rank and reputation inevitably sacrifices honor, friendship, and innocent lives to preserve its own hollow prestige.

Why Read It Today

Readers who enjoy Victorian-era social satires, classical melodramas, or sharp comedy of manners will find much to admire in this translation of Ossip Schubin's work. It captures the specific atmosphere of 1870s expatriate Rome with fine detail—from dusty studio divans to dawn encounters in quiet palace gardens. The narrative moves smoothly from ironic observation of social climbers to genuine emotional gravity as the consequences of elite snobbery take hold.

The book's primary difficulty lies in its deliberate pace and its reliance on period-specific social structures; modern readers may occasionally lose patience with the passive compliance of the characters or the dense web of continental titles and diplomatic etiquette. However, Schubin’s brisk dialogue and sharp eye for hypocrisy keep the narrative grounded. What stays with you is the haunting contrast between the glittering, superficial world of the Roman salons and the lonely, quiet dignity Zinka achieves after that world discards her.

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