The Eichhofs

An evening at the Berlin opera introduces the Eichhof brothers, two Guards officers whose shared social world hides very different prospects. Bernhard stands to inherit Eichhof, while Lothar struggles to maintain an officer's expensive way of life on a younger son's income. Their talk turns from potential marriages and family standing to unpaid bills, and Bernhard's uneasy interest in the newly married Wronskys adds another source of tension.

At Eichhof, Thea prepares a dinner and dance with help from Lothar and Lieutenant Werner. Arranging flowers and dance favours becomes an occasion for revealing conversations about money, reading and duty. These domestic scenes give Valeska Bethusy-Huc's German romance its particular texture: affection and private uncertainty unfold within the demands of rank and hospitality. In A. L. Wister's English translation, readers can follow a family story attentive to the cost of appearances and the feelings beneath polished manners.