In 1916, shortly after Romania entered World War I, her fiancé was sent to the front, where he was killed; she chose to remain celibate afterwards, in spite of her legendary beauty.
[5] In March 1944, with Soviet troops rapidly approaching as part of the Uman–Botoșani Offensive of World War II, the school was evacuated, and Nădejde, together with her gravely ill mother, withdrew to the national capital Bucharest.
[1] Mantu's true identity was a well-kept secret: not even the magazine editors knew who she was until Sadoveanu recognized an anecdote he had told her in one of her submissions.
[1] George Călinescu characterized her as being talented in "miniatures, moments, little observations, often delicate," capable of shedding light on "the provincial soul, indiscreet, malicious in its perseverance and hypocrisy".
A more generous Mihai Ralea asserted that her "every impression, every phrase is deeply refined, chiseled, reworked not just for maximum effect, but up to the highest expression of perfection".