Wanda v. Sacher-Masoch who wrote the attached letters, was the former wife of the author Sacher - Masoch whose books dealt with a neurotic kind of love finding pleasure in suffering (masochism). The letters are addressed to a German writer by the name of Bertz who apparently had been a close friend of the English author Gussing. Wanda S. knew Gussing's wife Gabriele and her family for a long time and became also well acquainted with Gussing himself, for whom she claims great admiration and devotion. She makes, however, the statement that her relations to Gussing were only of a very casual kind, although she spent much time with him and his family. After she inquired in a short note whether this man Bertz was actually the friend of Gussing and having received an affirmative reply, she proceeded to tell him the story of Gussing's marriage with Gabriele, which according to her version was a rather unhappy one, causing even the premature death of the author. This story runs xxx as follows.

Gabriele and her mother, who lived with the couple, were French women of the old type possessed by great stinginess and avarice. The daughter was completely under the influence of her mother, who controlled the life and the household of the couple. Wanda assumes that she gave the consent to the marriage only under the condition that she would permanently live with her daughter. She slept with Gabriele in the best room of the house, while Gussing had to live in a rather poor room. Wanda doubts whether there were any marital relations between Gussing and Gabriele, but if there were any, they were also under the control of the mother. Gabriele did have good qualities, but they were suppressed by the influence of her mother, so that both women gave Gussing the same bad treatment. This consisted mainly in the fact that Gussing, who was of very poor health, did not get sufficient food. In one of the letters Wanda describes, how he craved for bacon for his breakfast, which is a favorite dish with all Englishmen and would have been an important part of his diet to increase his strength. But inspite of his pleading for some bacon the two women denied him this wish and the mother declared scornfully that nobody would ever eat bacon in her household. When Gussing's condition had grown worse and worse, the family went for a summer vacation to the Pyrenees. But Gussing grew still worse under continued malnutrition and it became obvious that he would not live much longer. He asked the two women to write his physician to come and see him. He was told that they had written and that the doctor apparently did not come, although in reality they never sent a letter to him. Later Gussing pleaded with them to write to one of his best friends whom he wanted to see, and again he was told that a letter had been sent, but that the friend did not come. When the fall came, the two women prepared for a trip to the Riviera, planning to leave Gussing alone in the mountain resort, which was not equipped for a winter residence, hoping that he would not survive the cold season up there. But before they could leave, Gussing took another turn to the worse and finally a doctor was called, since the women feared criminal liability by not doing so. The doctor found that he could not help Gussing anymore and told the women that they were responsible for the author's death, which came very shortly thereafter. Only then also the friend of Gussing was called in, whose presence they had denied to the dying man. Gabriele felt some sorrow and remorse after Gussing's death, but after a few years these feelings had vanished and Wanda claims that she and her mother are now out to induce another Englishman, who gained a fortune in the tropics, but was now old and very sick, to marry Gabriele, apparently with the intent to await his death and get then in full possession of his wealth.

After she has told this story, Wanda asks Bertz, if it is true that he has some letters of Gussing in his possession, which would indicate the kind of life and sufferings during his marriage and which Bertz had planned to publish. Wanda herself is about to publish a book about Gussing, which would reveal all these facts and she declares that she was going to do so inspite of Gabriele's protests. Bertz seems to have answered that he had such letters, but that in consideration of his dead friend and his family he hesitates to go ahead with a publication. Wanda tries then to persuade him not to consider in any way the feelings of Gabriele and to refrain from publication only, if the letters would throw any bad lights on the author himself. She expresses her admiration for his pure and great friendship for Gussing that influences his actions and pleads with him to consider only, whether Gussing himself would have wanted him to publish the letters or not to do it. She expects that the letters would support the facts which she reveals in her own book and declares it a duty to the dead author to tell the world the truth about his married life and his death.