Sigrid Undset 
Jenny 

The setting is Rome, around 1905-1910, Jenny Winge is a beautiful, blonde, twenty-something painter. The reserved Jenny hangs out with a lively, bohemian crowd of fellow artists, including her special friend and roommate, Fransiska (Cesca) Jahrmann. Enter Helge Gram, a somewhat dorky fellow Norwegian, who latches onto Jenny. Her friends protest, but eventually come to accept him because of Jenny’s love-me-love-my-dog attitude. Jenny and Cesca have many discussions about their choices in life. (Amazon)