Berlin-born Fanny von Arnstein married a financier to the Austro-Hungarian imperial court, and in 1798 her husband became the first unconverted Jew in Austria to be granted the title of baron. Soon Fanny hosted an ever more splendid salon which attracted the leading figures of her day, including Madame de Stael and Arthur Schopenhauer. Hilde Spiel's biography provides a vivid portrait of a brave and passionate woman, illuminating a central era in European cultural and social history.

"Von Arnstein represents one of the most fascinating and paradoxical eras in modern Jewish history ......