Our Own Set: A Novel

In the winter of 1870 Rome, the city is divided between the shadowy “Monde noir” and the polished “Monde blanc,” while the Pope holds court in the Vatican and the king presides from the Quirinal. Into this charged atmosphere arrive the Austrian aristocrats, the Ilsenbergh family, who have taken up residence in a sprawling palazzo on the Corso, its cold stone staircases and grand salons echoing with whispered conspiracies. Their gatherings blend aristocratic formality with bohemian ease—smoking regalias, lively debate, and an undercurrent of political tension.

At the heart of the salon sits Count Otto Ilsenbergh, a scholarly noble wrestling with the rise of a new liberal ministry in Austria that threatens his conservative worldview. His wife, the poised Countess Auerstein, balances elegance with an unorthodox love of literature, often found cradling a cheap novel amidst volumes of Ampère and Mommsen. Their guest, the retired General von Klinger, now an aspiring painter haunted by past glories, adds a layer of artistic yearning and cynicism, setting the stage for clashing ambitions and secret alliances that will reshape their lives.