Elizabeth von Arnim course 2027

Elizabeth von Arnim: Extraordinary Women
Live online course, Sundays 6 June to 27 June 2027

With Isobel Maddison and Juliane Roemhild.

Elizabeth von Arnim never stopped asking questions about women's lives. From her first novel, Elizabeth and Her German Garden (1898), to her final book, Mr. Skeffington (1940), von Arnim explored women's quest for independence, the pitfalls of marriage, and the challenges of ageing in her best-selling, satirical novels. Her books are often hilariously funny and bone-chillingly accurate. 

As she follows women's trajectories across the lifespan, from hopeful young girl, to middle-aged self-reinvention, and the losses and compensations of the third age, many of her protagonists are extraordinary, or become so after soul-searching and taking stock. All negotiate the tricky and significant historical contexts in which they find themselves. 

This course will explore four of von Arnim's fascinating but less well-known novels, drawing out the complexities of her writing, her shifting perceptions on women, and her unwavering commitment to a clear-sighted analysis of the extraordinary (tragi-)comedies of the modern woman's situation.

Reading list

The Benefactress (1901; free digital copy available on Project Gutenberg). 
Introduction to Sally (1926; British library, 2023). Optional further reading: Max Beerbohm, Zuleika Dobson.
Fraulein Schmidt and Mr Anstruther(1907; Virago, 2006. Ebook Virago, 2014)
Love (1925; Virago, 2006).

Four sessions, live online weekly from Sunday 6 June to Sunday 27 June 2027.

Course fees

£210 full price
£190 students on low income
£190 CAMcard holders
£190 Members of the Elizabeth von Arnim Society
(Prices include 20% VAT)

Recordings

This is a 4-session course, with a live online lecture and seminar each week. The lectures are recorded so you can listen again during the course if you wish. The seminars are not recorded.

If you cannot attend a course you have booked

Please note that, because places are limited, we cannot usually give refunds if you cannot attend a course. But if you contact us in advance, we may be able transfer your booking to a different course.

Zoom link

We will send you a zoom link for the course by email at least 24 hours before the first lecture. If it does not arrive, please let us know by email in good time, at least an hour before the session, so we can re-send.

To book, please click on the image below.