In Virgin Soil, Turgenev biggest and most ambitious work, he sought to balance his deep affection for his country and his people with his growing apprehensions about what their future held in store. The story of a young couple, torn between love and politics, that struggle to make headway against the complacency of the powerful, the inarticulate misery of the powerless, and the stifling conventions of provincial life. A rich and complex book, a love story, a devastating, and bitterly funny social satire, and a heartfelt celebration of the immense beauty of the Russian countryside. A tragic masterpiece in which one of the world's finest novelists confronts the enduring question of the place of happiness in a political world.