02661cam a22003493u 450000100060000000300070000600500170001300600020003000700050003200800410003704000110007804100170008905000070010610000440011324500230015726400510018030000470023133600260027833700260030433800360033049000280036650000310039450801890042552014020061453400700201665300500208670000170213683000280215385600680218185600430224999900190229276750UtSlPG20260610134757.0mcr n260607r20251893utu|||||o|||||||||||||| d  aUtSlPG 7aen2iso639-1 4aPT1 aEbner-Eschenbach, Marie von,d1830-191614aThe two countesses 1aSalt Lake City, UT :bProject Gutenberg,c2025  a1 online resource :bmultiple file formats  atextbtxt2rdacontent  acomputerbc2rdamedia  aonline resourcebcr2rdacarrier1 aZwei Comtessen. English  aRelease date is 2025-08-28  aRichard Illner, Andrew Scott and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)  a"The two countesses" by Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach is a novel written in the late 19th century. It juxtaposes two aristocratic women—impulsive, witty Muschi and reflective, principled Paula—each facing courtship, convention, and the pull between love and social ambition within the Austro-Hungarian nobility. Expect lively social comedy, sharp character sketches, and probing questions about integrity, vanity, and how marriages are made.  The beginning of the novel alternates between Countess Muschi’s breezy letters and Countess Paula’s earnest memoirs. Muschi, bored at Sebenberg, sizes up a visiting Swabian suitor, spars with his pedantry, stages pranks and hunts, then deftly redirects his proposal to her demure friend Clara Aarheim—securing their engagement while revealing her own restless standards. In contrast, Paula recalls a sheltered upbringing, a crisis of conscience that ended her enthusiasm for hunting, and a deepening intellectual life (sparked by Don Quixote) as her family steers her toward the proud Count Taxen. At soirées she encounters the idealistic, unlucky Baron Schwarzburg, whose integrity captivates her, even as gossip swirls and her parents press the advantageous match with Taxen. The opening closes with Paula refusing to feign affection for the approved suitor and bracing for a family confrontation. (This is an automatically generated summary.)  pOriginally published:cNew York: Cassell Publishing Company, 1893  aAustrian fiction -- Translations into English1 aWaugh, Ellen 0aZwei Comtessen. English4 uhttps://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcmassbookdig.twocountesses00ebne40uhttps://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/76750  c117475d117475