She explained that Lenin was a leftist revolutionary who had led a revolt against the monarchy in 1917, ending centuries of imperial rule. No longer was land the sole property of wealthy aristocrats. Land was returned to the peasants, and Lenin was hailed by many as a hero. Mildred hoped her mother—who was living on a shoestring and always would, who had suffered a life of toil and still did, and who undoubtedly felt unvalued throughout it all—would view Lenin as a hero too. Georgina didn’t.
