Elizabeth von Arnim – författare

Berättelsen börjar en mycket regnig, kall och blåsig februaridag i London. Av en slump träffas två kvinnor och börjar prata om en annons om ett italienskt slott. Båda två känner att de skulle vilja komma bort från London ett tag, och efter en stund bestämmer de sig för att försöka hyra slottet.

Detta visar sig vara mycket besvärligare än de trodde och hela tiden dyker nya, oväntade problem upp, men till slut lyckas de ändå ta sig iväg för att tillbringa april i Italien.

Och det är bara början på allt oväntat som händer.

The Enchanted April är en av Elizabeth von Arnims mest kända romaner. Den har filmatiserats två gånger, 1935 och 1991, men har inte översatts till svenska tidigare.

Berättelsen börjar en mycket regnig, kall och blåsig februaridag i London. Av en slump träffas två kvinnor och börjar prata om en annons om ett italienskt slott. Båda två känner att de skulle vilja komma bort från London ett tag, och efter en stund bestämmer de sig för att försöka hyra slottet.

Detta visar sig vara mycket besvärligare än de trodde och hela tiden dyker nya, oväntade problem upp, men till slut lyckas de ändå ta sig iväg för att tillbringa april i Italien.

Och det är bara början på allt oväntat som händer.

The Enchanted April är en av Elizabeth von Arnims mest kända romaner. Den har filmatiserats två gånger, 1935 och 1991, men har inte översatts till svenska tidigare.

In 1901 the ''real'' Elizabeth holidayed on the Baltic island of Rügen with just her maid, a coachman, a carriage piled with luggage, and a woman friend. From such unpromising beginnings Elizabeth weaves a captivating farrago around her encounters. There''s the snobbish bishop''s wife and her personable, handsome son, a dressmaker and, astonishingly, a long-lost cousin -- Charlotte -- who is trying to evade the pursuit of her husband, the maddeningly genial old professor. Here, with delightfully astringent humour, Elizabeth recounts the misadventures that befall her. And, as she immortalised her Pomeranian wilderness in the famous ELIZABETH AND HER GERMAN GARDEN, she now writes enticingly of this remote and attractive island.

A gentle romance begins innocently enough in the stalls of a London theatre where Catherine is enjoying her ninth and Christopher his thirty-sixth visit to the same play.He is a magnificent young man with flame-coloured hair. She is the sweetest little thing in a hat. There is just one complication: Christopher is twenty-five, while Catherine is just a little bit older. Flattered by the passionate attentions of youth, Catherine, with marriage and motherhood behind her, is at first circumspect, but finally succumbs to her lover''s charms. The engaging humour of this autobiographical novel blunts the bitter edge of irony in the hypocrisy of 1920s society.

Beauty; beauty. What was the good of beauty, once it was over? It left nothing behind it but acid regrets, and no heart at all to start fresh.''Approaching the watershed of her fiftieth birthday, Fanny, having long ago divorced Mr Skeffington and dismissed him from her thoughts for many years, is surprised to find herself thinking of him often. While attempting to understand this invasion, she meets, through a series of coincidences and deliberate actions, all those other men whose hearts she broke. But their lives have irrevocably changed and Fanny is no longer the exquisite beauty with whom they were all once enchanted. If she is to survive, Fanny discovers, she must confront a greatly altered perception of her self.With the delicate piquancy for which she is renowned, Elizabeth von Arnim here reveals the complexities involved in the process of ageing and in re-evaluating self-worth.

Ingeborg Bullivant, the put-upon daughter of the Bishop of Redchester, suddenly becomes possessed by the demon Rebellion and takes a week''s tour to Lucerne. Constantly in the company of a ponderous German pastor, she is put into a quandary when he proposes marriage. Faced with her father''s wrath on her return, however, Ingeborg accepts her Herr Dremmel with simple relief.But the role of a pastor''s wife in East Prussia is not as Ingeborg had imagined, for she has merely exchanged one set of rules for another ...

Lucy Entwhistle''s beloved father has just died, and aged twenty-two, she finds herself alone in the world. Leaning against her garden gate, dazed and unhappy, she is disturbed by the sudden appearance of the perspiring Mr Wemyss.This middle-aged man is also in mourning - for his wife, Vera, who has died in mysterious circumstances. Before Lucy can collect herself, Mr Wemyss has taken charge: of the funeral arrangements, of her kind Aunt Dot, but most of all of Lucy herself, body and soul. Elizabeth von Arnim''s masterpiece, VERA is a forceful study of the power of men in marriage - and the weakness of women in love.

''An enchanting novel, witty, touching and very perceptively written, which will sweep you into wisteria and sunshine'' Santa MontefioreA discreet advertisement in ''The Times'', addressed to ''Those who Apppreciate Wisteria and Sunshine...'' is the impetus for a revelatory month for four very different women. High above the 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 spirit, they gradually shed their skins and discover a harmony each of them has longed for but never known.First published in 1922, this delightful novel is imbued with the descriptive power and light-hearted irreverence for which Elizabeth von Arnin is renowned.''Filled with hazy hills and fragrant flora, the novel is a dreamily sensuous description of the glories of Italian spring'' Adam Nicolson, Mail on Sunday''Elizabeth von Armin''s most charming novel in every sense: it casts a spell...a sun-washed fairytale'' Observer