In 1898 she started her literary career by publishing Elizabeth and Her German Garden, a semi-autobiographical novel about a rural idyll published anonymously and, as it turned out to be highly successful, reprinted 21 times within the first year. Elizabeth and her friend Irais amuse themselves by casting serious shade on another guest of house, an utterly clueless English art student named Minora.

The main delight ,however, is the descriptions of Elizabeth's efforts at gardening (not always successful ) but always undertaken with such passion that the reader would very much like to walk along the paths and through the gardens to see and smell Elizabeth's beloved roses. The four year old was born in May and the three year old in June, and yes, they are "The May Baby" and "The June Baby". One part garden memoir, two parts memoir about a bad marriage and a desire to escape most people and society, in general. I managed to read a bit of this book in my own garden the other day, when we finally had a spot of what might be termed summer. Other than that, I was pleased with the lovely distraction from looking at the same walls of this same house day after day.

They were mismatched, with Elizabeth being bright, sensitive and happy by nature and her husband being somber, pragmatic and bound by duty to the arduous task of farming his estate to bring in a meager income. Her father whom she passionately loved, her grumpy grandfather and her enchanted years between two and eighteen. Elizabeth and Her German Garden suggests that this is a traditional gardening memoir but it is only partly that. By the end, in a “speech” voiced by Elizabeth’s “oh so sage” husband, the satirical message becomes crystal clear. Second, the descriptions of all the flowers and the garden were longish and slightly boring since I'm not into gardening, at all (I unfortunately kill everything!

Her deep friendship with her younger cousin Katherine Mansfield is highlighted, and her escape from a disastrous second marriage to Lord Francis Russell (older brother of Bertrand) described. Married early to the German Count, Henning von Arnim, she became Elizabeth as she escaped to her German garden and found beauty amidst an oppressive existence. Elizabeth and Her German Garden," a novel by Elizabeth von Arnim, was popular and frequently reprinted during the early years of the 20th century. Then indeed I have felt ashamed of the fewness of my wants; but only for a moment, and only under the withering influence of the eyeglass; for, after all, the owner's spirit is the same spirit as that which dwells in my servants--girls whose one idea of happiness is to live in a town where there are others of their sort with whom to drink beer and dance on Sunday afternoons. May 7th -- There were days last winter when I danced for sheer joy out in my frost-bound garden in spite of my years and children.We tend to forget that the Gilded Age society was extremely well traveled and spoke several languages. She looked down upon the frivolous fashions of her time writing “I believe all needlework and dressmaking is of the devil, designed to keep women from study. Like Woolf, however, she was also ahead of her times, voicing defiant feminist views and caring little what everyone else thought. She is also somewhat affected - of course the book was written over a hundred years ago, and does not refer to her family by their names.

So it was very easy for me to get caught up in Elizabeth's lyrical descriptions of her plants and her dreams about what her garden might look like in the future. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.THE GLINTS OF DRY HUMOUR' AT THE EXPENSE OF HER FAMILY AND FRIENDS IS NEVER REALLY MALICIOUS BUT JUST GIVES THE NECESSARY SEASONING TO A MIXTURE WHICH MIGHT OTHERWISE BE TOO BLAND. The overall effect of this is like Dowager Lady Grantham reading you a seed catalogue until you pass out from boredom.

Von Arnim wrote another 20 books, which were all published "By the author of Elizabeth and Her German Garden". Elizabeth is dismissive of her children, rude to her houseguests, and she fires the governess after overhearing her airing liberal views. I absolutely loved 'Enchanted April', so perhaps my expectations of 'Elizabeth and her German Garden' were too high? She expresses hope that the ‘benediction’ bestowed by her garden will help her grow in grace and patience. In my garden you could find a murder of crows, a knot of toads and some gopher tortoises digging holes.Le ore volano quando me ne sto rinchiusa con quei cataloghi e con il Dovere che ringhia astioso dall’altra parte della porta. These women accept their beating with a simplicity worthy of all praise, and far from considering themselves insulted, admire the strength and energy of the man who can administer such eloquent rebukes.