Mistress of the Empire vs A desperate character, etc — Which Should You Read First?

Both Mistress of the Empire and A desperate character, etc are beloved by readers. Here is what RateYourReads readers say about both, plus similar books you might enjoy.

• A Dance With Dragons by George R. R. Martin
• Dnevnik lishnego cheloveka by Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev
• Daddy Love by Joyce Carol Oates
• The cat's eye by R. Austin Freeman
• Sylvie and Bruno Concluded by Lewis Carroll
• The autobiography of Charles Darwin, 1809-1882 by Charles Darwin
• Velocity by Dean Koontz
• My belief by Hermann Hesse