Volnaya gramota

From the title "Life of a Mistress", I thought this was a seedy drama about a concubine or an "other woman", so I've been ignoring this for sometime while surfing shows to watch on Prime Video. So glad I finally took a chance on this as it turned out to be quite a gem.

After watching this, I think a more apt title would have been "The Serf Lady" or something like that.

This tells the story of beautiful Polina Lebedeva, born a serf in the estate of Prince Alexei Golovin but raised like his daughter. However, her freedom certificate he signed on his deathbed was stolen. So was his will that left all his estate to her.

The estate falls into the hands of a tyrannical neighbor Count Andrey Krechetskiy, who, along with his wife Anna, treat Polina as a serf. The drama shows the agonizing lives of serfs whose lives, including their marriages, are dictated by their masters.

Andrey's dashing brother Dmitriy, however, treats Polina as the lady she is. They fall in love, but it is illegal for noblemen to marry serfs. How the couple overcomes obstacles is riveting. I also love how the.drama shows the investigation process that culminates in the satisfying revelation at the courtroom.