‘Her design was once more to engage him, to hear him sigh, to see him languish, to feel the strenuous pressures of his eager arms, to be compelled, to be sweetly forc’d to what she wished with equal ardour.’

Originally published in 1725, and daringly exploring themes such as identity, class and female desire, Fantomina: Love in a Maze is comprehended as one of the finest – yet underappreciated – novellas of the eighteenth-century.

A beautiful young woman becomes intrigued with a charming, but severely shallow, young man at the theatre: Beauplaisir. Witnessing his treatment of some of the ladies there, she disguises herself as ‘Fantomina’, to determine whether his behaviour would change towards her. After a short fling, Beauplaisir tires of her and leaves, much to her outrage. Fantomina then takes on a series of alternative personas in a bid to re-capture his attention. A scathing commentary on men’s treatment of women in society, Fantomina: Love in a Maze is a remarkable work which would have scandalised its readers at the time of publication. This audiobook is brought to life by the brilliant Helen Keeley.

Eliza Haywood (1693 – 1756) was an English writer, actress and publisher. In her lifetime, she penned over seventy works, including novels, poetry, plays and periodicals. A proto-feminist, she was famed for her romance writing, which mirrored contemporary scandals in eighteenth century society.