The Enchanted April
Elizabeth Von Arnim
The Enchanted April
FictionRomanceClassicsFamily & Domestic Fiction
24 chapters·10h 3m listening
3.86from 46,122 ratingson Goodreads
"The Enchanted April" by Elizabeth von Arnim is a novel published in 1922. Four dissimilar women escape their dreary lives in 1920s England for a month-long holiday at a medieval Italian castle. Mrs. Arbuthnot and Mrs. Wilkins struggle with unhappy marriages, Lady Caroline seeks refuge from shallow London society, and elderly Mrs. Fisher clings to her Victorian past. Despite initial tensions, the tranquil Mediterranean setting begins to work its magic on each woman, offering possibilities for transformation and renewal.
Contains spoilers for the entire book
- Themes
- Atmosphere
About the book
Published in 1922, The Enchanted April begins on a wet February afternoon in London, when Lotty Wilkins, an overlooked young wife, notices a newspaper advertisement for a small medieval castle on the Italian Riviera to let for the month of April. She persuades Rose Arbuthnot, a devout acquaintance from her club, to share it, and they take on two strangers to help with the cost. Elizabeth von Arnim, who had herself stayed at a castle above Portofino, sets four very different women, Lotty, Rose, the beautiful and weary Lady Caroline Dester and the formidable elderly Mrs. Fisher, loose among the wisteria and sunshine of San Salvatore. Light, witty and warm, the novel shows each of them gradually transformed by beauty, rest and one another’s company.
Characters
Lotty Wilkins — Holiday organizer
An unappreciated wife who answers an advertisement for an Italian castle and invites another woman to join her.
Rose Arbuthnot — Fellow traveler
A dutiful, reserved woman whose marriage has become overshadowed by estrangement and charitable work.
Lady Caroline Dester — Fellow traveler
A celebrated beauty seeking relief from society's attention and expectations.
Mrs. Fisher — Fellow traveler
An elderly woman who guards her solitude and measures the present against distinguished memories.
Mellersh Wilkins — Lotty's husband
A status-conscious solicitor whose assumptions are tested by his wife's independence.
Frederick Arbuthnot — Rose's husband
A successful writer whose professional life has contributed to the distance between him and Rose.
Thomas Briggs — Castle owner
The owner of San Salvatore, drawn into the company of the women staying there.
About the author
Elizabeth von Arnim (1866–1941) was a novelist born Mary Annette Beauchamp in Sydney, Australia, and raised in England; she was a cousin of the writer Katherine Mansfield. In 1891 she married the Prussian Count Henning von Arnim and went to live on his estate in Pomerania, which inspired her first book, Elizabeth and Her German Garden (1898). Published anonymously, it was a great success, and for years her books appeared as “by the author of Elizabeth and Her German Garden”. After her husband’s death she moved between England and Switzerland, had a relationship with H. G. Wells, and in 1916 married Frank Russell, the elder brother of Bertrand Russell, a marriage that soon failed. Her witty, observant novels include The Enchanted April (1922) and Mr. Skeffington (1940). She died in South Carolina in 1941.