Overview

Fräulein Schmidt and Mr. Anstruther is a novel by Elizabeth von Arnim, first published in 1907. Written in epistolary form, the book traces a sustained correspondence between a young German woman and an English man whose brief engagement has ended, yet whose exchange of letters continues over time. Through these letters, von Arnim explores the emotional aftermath of romantic attachment and the slower, less visible work of recovery, reflection, and self-understanding. The novel begins with the conventions of romance familiar to readers of the period, but gradually departs from them. As the correspondence unfolds, the focus shifts away from courtship and toward the inner life of its heroine, Marie-Rose, whose voice becomes increasingly assured and self-directed. Rather than moving toward reconciliation or narrative closure in the expected sense, the novel remains attentive to the costs of accommodation and the value of interior independence. Von Arnim's prose is marked by clarity, restraint, and irony. Without polemic or spectacle, she depicts the tensions between social expectation, emotional loyalty, and personal integrity. The novel is characteristic of her broader work, which often examines marriage, friendship, and women's inner freedom through quiet but exacting observation. This edition presents the complete public-domain text, accompanied by an afterword situating the novel within von Arnim's literary concerns and historical moment.

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