Naja tripudians

by Annie Vivanti

"Naja tripudians" by Annie Vivanti is a novel published in 1920. Two innocent sisters from the provinces accept an invitation to a luxurious London home, believing their hostess to be a noble Lady. Instead, she reveals herself as a "monstrous white serpent"—the cobra of the title—who seeks only to exploit the young women for the amusement of her bored guests. One sister escapes; the other falls victim to this house of vice. The novel denounces the corrupt society of post-World War I Europe.