The Enchanted April
1922 • 247 pages
Ratings9
Average rating4.1
15
Ratings9
Average rating4.1
Colour, fragrance, light, sea; instead of Shaftesbury Avenue, and the wet omnibuses, and the fish department at Shoolbread's ... and dinner, and to-morrow the same and the day after the same and always the same.
A discreet advertisement in The Times, addressed to "those who Appreciate Wistaria and Sunshine ...", is the prelude to a revelatory month for four very different women. High above a bay on the Italian Riviera stands San Salvatore, a mediaeval castle. Beckoned to this haven are Mrs Wilkins, Mrs Arbuthnot, Mrs Fisher and Lady Caroline Dester, each quietly craving a respite. Lulled by the mediterranean spring, the violet mountains and sweet-scented flowers, they gradually shed their public skins and discover a harmony each of them has longed for but none has known. First published in 1922, reminiscent of Elizabeth and Her German Garden, this delightful novel is imbued with the descriptive power and light-hearted irreverence for which Elizabeth von Arnim is so popular.
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This took me way too long to read, but ultimately I enjoyed it. The descriptions of San Salvatore are gorgeous. The characters are charming and quite funny (“she wouldn't be silly; she would think of the poor; the thought of them always brought her down to sobriety at once”). I enjoyed the getting to Italy and then once all the extra people arrived; I got bogged down in the middle and that's what took forever to read. Really enjoyable overall.
