Footnotes and Tangents

Footnotes and Tangents

Share this post

Footnotes and Tangents
Footnotes and Tangents
Yelena Vasilyevna Kuragina
Marginalia

Yelena Vasilyevna Kuragina

Hélène, a society beauty

Simon Haisell's avatar
Simon Haisell
Dec 23, 2023
∙ Paid
3

Share this post

Footnotes and Tangents
Footnotes and Tangents
Yelena Vasilyevna Kuragina
Share

BOOK ONE

Part One

Chapter 1

Since Hélène came out in society, everyone has been enraptured by the beautiful daughter of Prince Vasili Kuragin. So says Anna Pavlovna.

Chapter 2

She arrives at Anna’s soirée to accompany her father to the English ambassador’s ball. Unlike Lise Bolkonskaya, she is dressed for an extravagant engagement, with her ball dress and badge of maid of honour.

Chapter 3

Outdazzling everyone in the room, Hélène appears “shy of her unquestionable and all too victorious beauty.” Faced with very much exposed bosom, even Andrei and Pierre feel compelled to comment: “very lovely”.

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to Footnotes and Tangents to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Simon Haisell
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share