The Opposite House: A Novel

About this issue

This 1894 novel by Nataly von Eschstruth, translated from the German, traces the reformation of a dissolute young merchant. Traugott Gerrald, a pleasure-seeking dandy addicted to gambling and enchanted by the celebrated ballet dancer Heloise Chenois, learns of his dying mother Frau Gertrude's anguish on his behalf. She passes away after extracting his promise to abandon gambling; her deathbed blessing catalyzes his complete transformation. Subsequently, Gerrald abandons his former vices and applies himself seriously to his neglected mills and business affairs. His investigation reveals systematic fraud and embezzlement by his lax superintendent. The narrative chronicles his maturation into a responsible merchant and dutiful man, contrasting sharply with his earlier frivolous character while depicting the domestic and professional consequences of his reformation.