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The story of Sofia Casanova parallels the great events of contemporary European history. A life of almost 100 years unfolded between 1861 and 1958, which was not foreign to the political, cultural, and social movements that so marked the transformation of modern society, and she lived her life with great energy. She divided her time between Russian Poland and Spain after the outbreak of WWI. The chronicles in her diary related her experience as a Red Cross nurse, mother, writer, and grandmother in the major wars and conflicts during that time. The first war left her in St. Petersburg during the Russian revolution that led to the birth of the Soviet Union. Through historical analysis and a broad perspective, Pedro Ochoa interweaves a story that conveys to the reader all the ways in which Casanova dislocated the boundary between public and private. From her social conservatism, Sofia Casanova was able to transcend the limits marked by social norms, strengthening her political voice. The implications of both her daily life and her role as a writer weave a narrative destined to shed light on the possibilities of social transformation that European women had in the twentieth century.
