The beautiful but penniless Anna Estcourt is twenty-five and still unmarried, much to the annoyance of her brother and his infuriating wife, who are keen to get Anna off their hands. An unexpected legacy from Uncle Joachim in the shape of a property in rural Germany offers Anna the independence for which she has longed. Seeking to use her new-found fortune for the good of others, she plans to share her property with distressed gentlewomen, an ambition not without its difficulties. In the meantime, the friendship of neighbouring landowner Axel Lohm causes Anna to question her avowed romantic disinterest in men.

First published in 1919, The Benefactress is at once a romantic comedy and an insightful critique of the place of women in contemporary society. Von Arnim’s trademark sense of wry humour and sharp observation pervade the novel, heightened in this delightful reading by Lucy Scott.