This is a truly fantastic gem of a book from the author of Jane Eyre. The story is most complex, deeply tragic yet unbelievably honest, brave and moving. Its a journey of an empoverished young woman finding her own way in a strange foreign country, discovering her own nature and true feelings about friendship and love. The heroine is most of the time passive and behaves as if she can be trodden upon by anybody; but yet, facing crisis, she rises above herself and charges forward with incredible earnestness and courage. The main male character, well, he certainly takes a long time to reveal what he eventually means to our heroine; once you get past the initial confusion over him, he dazzles like no other romantic heroes. The twists and turns keep unraveling in most unexpected ways and keep the suspense so intense that you find yourself losing sleep over the next development. The prose is so poetic and powerful that compels you to re-read so many passages all over again. Cannot praise or recommend it enough. It deserves a much wider audience as well as recognition!