Effi Briest's Forgotten Sister

The young, dreamy Agathe grows up in a bourgeois household and wants to do everything right. However, she repeatedly clashes with the conservative society of the young German Empire; neither her youthful longing for freedom and self-fulfillment nor her desire for love are realized. When her brother gambles away her dowry, she is left with no option for a marriage of convenience. Agathe becomes desperate and is admitted to a mental institution.

Gabriele Reuter became instantly famous with this novel, which turned into a bestseller. "A well-known women's rights advocate is said to have remarked, as I read, that if he were Minister of Education, he would have this book printed and distributed in hundreds of thousands of copies. He would do very well to do so." Thomas Mann.