A delightful, witty, albeit somewhat starry-eyed read set in England but mostly Italy a few years after World War I. Lotty Wilkins and Rose Arbuthnot, suffering in equal parts from unsatisfactory marriages and the English weather respond to an advertisement offering a castle on the Italian Riviera. They take it for the month of April and then add to their coterie with Lady Caroline Dester, a bright young thing bored to tears with her bright young life, and Mrs. Fisher, a formidable dowager surrounded by the ghosts of all the greats she had known.
There is wonderful craft in great characterizations and witty prose, as in
[Lady Caroline] was having a violent reaction against beautiful clothes and the slavery they impose on one, her experience being that the instant one had got them they took one in hand and gave one no peace till they been everywhere and been seen by everybody. You didn’t take your clothes to parties; they took you.
and
Mellersh was much too prudent to speak except after a pause, during which presumably he was taking a careful mental copy of his coming observation.
and
…added to the restlessness, as the days of the second week proceeded on their way, [Mrs. Fisher] had a curious sensation, which worried her, of rising sap…Yet oftener and oftener, and every day more and more, did Mrs. Fisher have a ridiculous feeling as if she were presently going to burgeon.
By the end of their stay at San Salvatore all four women get what they need, which in every case is a far cry from what they thought they wanted when they arrived. San Salvatore is a heavenly, seaside setting overrun with beautiful, sweet-smelling flowers, burgeoning (forgive me) beneath a succession of glorious, sun-filled days. Lotty decides it is literally heaven itself, a place no one could be so selfish as to want to keep all to themselves. It’s an impulse that could have led to disastrous consequences but this is not that book and the end of April ends happily for all the residents of the castle.
I read this book after watching the 1992 film with an excellent cast featuring Joan Plowright, which is an excellent adaptation. I recommend it, too, but after you’ve read the book.
Book Review Monday Chatter Elizabeth von Arnim The Enchanted April
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One of my all time favourite stories and the DVD portrays the characters and that era exactly as I imagined them in the book. Beautifully written story and very beautifully transferred to the screen.
It was really well cast.
I did this experience backwards. Saw the film on PBS and absolutely loved it. All the actors were fantastic and I was totally sucked in.. Next listened to the audio book and finally got the actual book. Loved them all and was never disappointed by either genre. I have lost count of the number of times I have watched the movie. It has actually become an annual (at least!) winter time viewing for me. The audio book doesn’t ‘stay’ in my car, but have listened to it quite often. It is so wonderful when one discovers a true gem like this title. Thank you for reminding me to revisit this as soon as possible.
You’re welcome!
Thank you for sharing. (Your stories are a right proper compliment to the works of late, great Tony Hillerman (and now his daughter), and the other writers who skillfully imbue their writings with an unforgettable sense of time and place. Well done!
Thank you!