If it be Not Now. . .

However hard we struggle, if we're born under an unlucky star, can we ever resist our fate? Born of a father from the gentry and a mother of low birth, the hero of this story, Demetrius, was never destined for an easy life in nineteenth-century Ukraine. Both his parents die and he is disowned by his grandfather. But his destiny is far more cruel than we could imagine: when visiting Russia, he's falsely imprisoned and suffers physical and mental abuse for years. Eventually he escapes and proves his innocence - but is he now free? 'The doubts and sadness that had plagued his life before prison were returning.' But then he is reconciled with his grandfather and he meets and marries a faithful and kind woman. It is heartbreaking when fate intervenes once more. Despite his new-found happiness and his dogged battle against the illness which besets him, events unfold with horrifying inevitability. The ultimate tragedy strikes: the climax is unforgettable. It is the fascination of tragedy that draws us into this powerful and gripping story. The quotation from Hamlet, 'If it be not now, yet it will come' is played out to the full.