In late 19th century Germany, 17-year-old Effi Briest is married off to a man 21 years her senior, a former suitor of her mother. Her new husband, a civil servant based in Pomerania, is a quiet, serious man, who enjoys touring museums, and who's idea of a fun night in is retracing their entire honeymoon from his notes. Effi, meanwhile, is young, vibrant and, prior to her marriage, carefree, and enjoys being outdoors, going for long walks.

The apparent incompatibility between the couple, the husband Innsteten's long absences, and Effi's desire for excitement see her developing a relationship with a military officer. Knowing it to be wrong, she takes advantage of Innstetten's promotion and their resultant move to Berlin to move on and focus on her marriage. The past, however, catches up with her, and, though he professes that he loves her, Innstetten's feels compelled to follow the moral and social code of the day.

As a commentary on the strictness of that code,, and the problems that it could create, Fontane's novel is taut, subtle work, telling its tale simply and effortlessly, with no melodrama, and the novel is all the more powerful for it. The characters are well drawn and strongly defined, and as I reader, I found myself sympathising with both Effi and Instetten. Due to their respective desires to 'do the right thing', they both end up suffering.

Having said that, there is something about Effi that I found intensely annoying. She is childish, and selfish - Fontane himself describes her thus: 'Effi was not for reheated leftovers; fresh dishes were what she longed for, variety'. I did find myself losing patience, and sympathy, with her. Whether that was Fontane's intention, I do not know, though he does allow Innstetten to describe her as 'a spoilt young lass'. I feel that Fontane is trying to establish that neither one nor other party to this ultimately doomed marriage was responsible for its breakdown, but rather circumstances and social mores were to blame.