Three documents concerning “The Little Lady” Jelenka from the correspondence of prince Milos Obrenovic

In this study touching upon Jelenka, known as ?the Little Lady,? who oversaw the women?s affairs in Prince Milos?s residence at the court in Kragujevac (1823-1835), the author presents three documents drawn from the ample correspondence of Prince Milos. These documents show that Jelenka was a woman of letters at a time when women in the Principality of Serbia were mostly illiterate. As a contemporary of the learned Dositej Obradovic, she possessed his books (such as Hristoitia, published in 1826), and was the first woman to be distinguished with a decoration for her service at the court of Prince Milos. The documents presented here revise the prevailing opinion of her as an adventuress, a highwaywoman, and a roving fortune-seeker, as she had been portrayed in certain newspaper feuilletons and novels of the past.