A House of Gentlefolk (1858) by Ivan Sergyevich Turgenev (1818—1883) is the quintessential Turgenev novel of fading Russian nobility, idealistic innocence and disillusionment, against the backdrop of a changing era on the brink of the revolution. Just as he has committed himself to marry an innocent idealistic young woman, Lavretsky is faced with the fallen woman from his past. What follows is heartbreak, in classic Russian style.　

Lavretsky pursues an education in Moscow, and while he is studying there, he spies a beautiful young woman at the opera. Her name is Varvara Pavlovna, and he falls in love with her and asks for her hand in marriage. Lavretsky learns of the affair only when he discovers a note written to her by her lover. Shocked by her betrayal, he severs all contact with her and returns to his family estate. Upon returning to Russia, Lavretsky visits his cousin, Marya Dmitrievna Kalitina, who lives with her two daughters, Liza and Lenochka. Lavretsky is immediately drawn to Liza, and Lavretsky realizes that he is falling in love with Liza.

After they confess their love to one another, Lavretsky returns home to find his supposedly dead wife waiting for him in his foyer. Upon learning of Varvara Pavlovna's sudden appearance, Liza decides to join a remote convent and lives out the rest of her days as a nun.　

Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (November 9, 1818—September 3, 1883) was a Russian novelist, short story writer, and playwright. His first major publication, a short story collection entitled A Sportsman's Sketches, is a milestone of Russian Realism, and his novelFathers and Sons is regarded as one of the major works of 19th-century fiction.