April Read: Elizabeth von Arnim

Share your plans and thoughts here!

Sorry I don't have time to find pictures and info right now. If anyone else can do so, thank you. If not I'll add them at the weekend.

Here is a bit about Elizabeth I included in a review of Elizabeth and Her German Garden:

Elizabeth and Her German Garden was first published in 1898 and enjoyed twenty reprintings in its first year alone. It was Elizabeth von Arnim's first published work. Reading it 115 years later, the reception seems completely overblown, but the author herself still shines through.

An autobiography in fictional form, the book is written as a diary, allowing us glimpses of Elizabeth and her realm that convention might otherwise have suppressed. This is a world of grand estates, household and social obligations and strictures, and rigid class structures; the world that World War I would destroy. I found myself crying "Come the Revolution..." on several occasions, yet what kept me going was that Elizabeth herself was rebelling in her own way against that world.

Elizabeth von Arnim was a far more interesting person than her book. She started life in Australia as the far more pedestrian sounding Mary Annette Beauchamp (the English pronounce this Beecham), May to her family. Her family moved back to England when she was three. There she had a fairly conventional upbringing, suitable to the daughter of a wealthy merchant. Things changed when her father took her on a European tour when she was twenty-three.

In Rome she met the recently widowed Count Henning August von Arnim-Schlagenthin. They soon married, after three months of daily German lessons for young May. They settled in Berlin, where May, now mysteriously Elizabeth, had three daughters in four years. Life looked dull and settled indeed. Then, in 1986, Elizabeth accompanied her husband on a trip to his country estate in Pomerania and discovered a whole new world. She convinced him that this was the place for her. She established herself there with her daughters, with the Count visiting them for extended periods. Her first year there is the stuff of EAHGG.

...

Her ideas about her German neighbours betrayed strong English stereotypes, but she could be wickedly funny in describing them. She took delight in verbal sparring with her husband, referred to him, albeit affectionately, as "The Man of Wrath", whenever he tried to steer her back to his idea of her duties. For his part, he had the wit to indulge her.
.....

The next decade would see two more children, including a son, who would have E M Forster and Hugh Walpole for tutors.

The real world would intrude though. The Man of Wrath would be arrested and imprisoned for fraud in 1908. Elizabeth took her own advice

Submission to what people call their "lot" is simply ignoble. If your lot makes you cry and be wretched, get rid of it and take another; strike out for yourself: don't listen to the shrieks of your relations, to their gibes or their entreaties; don't let your own microscopic set prescribe your goings-out and comings-in; don't be afraid of public opinion in the shape of the neighbour in the next house, when all the world is before you new and shining, and everything is possible, if you will only be energetic and independent and seize opportunity by the scruff of the neck.

She returned to London. The Count died in 1910. Elizabeth embarked on a three year affair with H G Wells. In 1916 she married Bertram Russell's older brother, the second Earl Russell, only to leave him in 1919. She would publish twenty-one more books over the years. I suspect I may read one or two, but I would far rather read a good biography of Elizabeth herself.

_______________________

Perhaps someone can suggest that biography and give more details than I have.

I would add that since then I have read more of her books and enjoyed each one, particularly Fraulein Schmidt and Mr Anstruther.

Elizabeth von Arnim as a young woman


and pictured here with her dogs. (sorry the photo is so large)

Thank you both 🌹

My plan is to read The Ordeal of Elizabeth which has been credited to Ms von Arnim as well as to 'anonymous'. As far as I can tell, our author has never personally taken credit for this work (oh, because it was found & published posthumously.....DOH) and no one has been able to prove that it is one of her works. It is, however, listed with her other works in the wiki as:
"The Ordeal of Elizabeth (1901; draft of a novel, published posthumously)"
and on Amazon.com she is named as the author so some do credit her with this writing. Anyway I have always been curious about it, thus my decision to read it for her monthly author read. I am hopeful that the writing style will give me some insight.

She also wrote under the pen name Alice Cholmondeley. So if you have read all of the Elizabeth von Armin works, that would give you some other options.

I have three unread books by Elizabeth von Arnim. Of those I will probably try Mr Skeffington first. The library doesn't seem to have much of a selection, though it does have two books I've never heard of: The Jasmine Farm and Expiation. Has anyone here read either of those? Other possibilities are The Caravaners and Fraulein Schmidt and Mr Anstruther. I would also like to read a biography but there doesn't seem to be one available at the library.

I have a bio called Elizabeth of the German garden by Leslie de Charmes. I might try and read it if there's time, but I have a stack of 6 unread novels too! On the pile are:
Christopher and Columbus
Vera
The caravaners
Love
Mr Skeffington
Fraulein Schmidt and Mr Anstruther

I've just started Christopher and Columbus, chosen by virtue of its being on top of the pile!

Oh, fascinating: I had no idea she wrote under pseudonyms! I'm torn between rereading Enchanted April (as it's been more than ten years and is absolutely delightful as you all know) or reading something fresh.

I've read Vera but recall nothing (which might have been bad timing on my part, it's not necessarily forgettable!), really liked Fraulein Schmidt and Mr Anstruther, and was so fond of Elisabeth and Her German Garden and The Solitary Summer that I gave them as gifts regularly for years. Besides the VMC options, I've got one called Father on my shelf which also looks very vonArnim-y.

What others here choose to read will likely impact my choices, as I'm actually still finishing Wharton's The Reef!

I really liked the slim volume about her and her dogs. It was charming!

All the Dogs of My Life and it was charming, Simon. :-)

>11 rainpebble: Simon is stuck in a book but he's not buried in print! 😺

I'm with Belva on this one! I did the same thing a few months ago with Buried in Print or someone with a similar title to Stuck in a Book. Buried - what is your name so we don't keep doing this to you? And where is Simon these days? Having a life?

>12 Soupdragon:
Thank you Dee. Nice catch.
Oh man!~! My bad. Sorry dudes. :-(

Scheesch! I am unable to even get the genders correct.
I believe that buriedinprint is of the feminine gender and well, we all know that Simon is of the opposite.
So double bads, here. Sorry dude & dudette.

I think Simon has a new job so that's probably taking up a lot of his time! :)

Pictures of my von Arnim books here as I try to ponder which one to read!

https://kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2017/04/08/virago-author-of-the-mo...

I finished Christopher and Columbus and while I enjoyed it I didn't love it as much as I'd hoped to. It's a humorous look at anti-German prejudice during WWI, as expressed by the reactions of the world to the two Annas, half English half German twins. They fall into company with Mr Twist, a "motherly" American man, and come to depend on him to get them out of the scrapes into which they frequently fall. But their friendship with him is of course viewed suspiciously - there must be some immoral goings-on, not to mention that the girls might be spies who've trapped him in their conspiracies. I found the book a bit too long for the subject matter and characters - it takes a long time to get going and then a lot of the encounters the girls have basically repeat the same points over and over again. The characters are secondary to the satire, and don't really develop and grow; they are there to illustrate the author's points. I think if it had been a hundred pages shorter I'd have enjoyed this a lot more.

Now I'm reading Vera, which I expect to be very different in tone.

I agree Clare. If this had been my first Von Arnim I would not have read a second. I plowed on with it and finished it but after some of her others it was a huge bust for me.

>18 romain: I'm glad it's not just me!

Here's what I've just written about Vera on my reading journal thread:

This is about a sheltered young woman who attracts the attention of an older man while mourning her father. He sees this young, naïve, adoring girl as his ideal second wife ... though his first has only just died and in mysterious circumstances. The scenes where Wemyss is romancing Lucy are nauseating as he treats her like a baby and gushes about how with her short hair she looks to be as young as 12 years old. Wemyss is based on the author's second husband, whom she parted from acrimoniously.

I'm about half-way through the book and enjoying (if that is the right word for a book with such a nauseating male lead) it a lot more than C & C.

I have not done very well with Elizabeth von Arnim so far but hope to make up for it in the remainder of the month. Finishing The Stories of Edith Wharton: Volume 1 took me a few days into this month even though I had already read four of them elsewhere. Then I started Mr Skeffington but it did not grab me even though I liked its light comedic tone. I had seen the film, but quite a while ago now, so I don't really remember it or how it might have differed from the book. I kept being distracted by other things but finally finished it today. It was worth reading though some aspects of it were a bit dated.

I went to the library yesterday and picked up all their books by Elizabeth von Arnim that I did not already own, and will try to read them all over the next few weeks. They are: The Caravaners, Fraulein Schmidt and Mr Anstruther, Expiation and The Jasmine Farm. The latter two intrigue me particularly because there are few mentions of them so I may try them first.

Incidentally the library was also having a small fiction sale and I was astonished to find a copy of Elizabeth Taylor: Complete Short Stories for sale as it is a fairly recent book. Even though I have read it I had to buy it, of course (for 50 cents!). I also picked up three other books for $1 so I was quite happy with my afternoon (though I had a very heavy bag to carry home).

I finished Love, which is all I'll be doing on Von Arnim for this month since the only other two I have are The Solitary Summer and The Adventures of Elizabeth in Rugen and I want to read Elizabeth and Her German Garden first.

No big problem, though, because my higher priority this year (as it was last year) is ROOTing, and come next month I'll be doing Willa Cather: Later Novels (Library of America) which is also a part of my Big Fat Book challenge. That's five novels (since I've already read Archbishop) all of which are also VMC Cather titles. I may also do a reread of My Antonia in the rather recently published Norton Critical, to include the supplementary materials.

I've just finished Vera which was chilling and powerful, a very uncomfortable read.

Next up is Mr Skeffington. >20 europhile: I didn't know it had been made into a film.

I plan to start The Caravaners today.

I started The Caravaners last night and got about ten pages in before being called away. I have almost nothing left to read by her (in the house) so this is it for the month I think.

Well, after reading the comments on it above I picked up Vera, just to see how long it was. Then I read the most interesting introduction (it's the green VMC edition), saying that the author felt it was her best book, and then of course I started the story itself. And now, after just a short break for lunch and a walk, I have finished it. I must say I was very impressed with the way the true character of Wemyss was slowly and subtly revealed, and equally impressed with how Miss Entwhistle (the maiden aunt of his second wife) conducted herself towards him at the end. Altogether a very rewarding read and an ideal way to spend a wet and windy Good Friday.

ETA: About halfway through I was thinking it a bit of a coincidence that the titular characters in both this book and Mr Skeffington were very much present throughout the book, but either did not make a physical appearance or only did so right at the end. I also thought it was about time I read Rebecca, which I have owned for a long time but never read, as it was apparently partly inspired by this book. In fact I have a lot of unread books by Daphne du Maurier, so a month of reading her would clearly be in order too.

This is now the fifth of the six books by Elizabeth von Arnim I own that I have read, but The Pastor's Wife will probably have to wait until another time. Next up will be Fraulein Schmidt and Mr Anstruther, because of the German connection and besides it's a VMC edition.

I really enjoyed Fraulein Schmidt and Mr Anstruther. Actually it reminded me in tone and style of Elizabeth and her German Garden and made me think I really ought to reread that book. I have chosen several amusing passages to read aloud to she-who-likes-to-be-read-to.

I would still like to read a biography of the author too so will see if I can get the library to order the latest one by Jennifer Walker. Next up will be The Caravaners which I'm sure will not be such a quick read.

ETA: Of course, after saying the above, I made a beeline for my shelves and picked up Elizabeth and Her German Garden. Once I'd started it I went through it pretty quickly in more or less one sitting, with just a short break to get some lunch. I think I appreciated it much more than I did the first time, especially the humour and the conversational interactions between 'Elizabeth' and her guests/husband & children, much of which I did not remember. I'll have to look up when I originally read it now.

I'm enjoying The Caravaners. The book is written from the point of view of a stuffy German man on a caravan holiday with his wife. von Arnim satirizes him (and, well, probably all Germans) mercilessly. It is similar to reading The Diary of a Provincial Lady, but much more biting.

75 pages into The Caravaners. Agree with Laura. Very funny.

I am well into The Ordeal of Elizabeth and am enjoying it but finding it to be a bit of fluff. And I am in agreement with whomever doubted that it was a true von Arnim as it just doesn't 'feel' like I am reading her. She had a style of her own and this novel doesn't match with it. Anyhoo...... I should be able to finish it when I get home today or tomorrow and hopefully will have time to read something else by her.

just edited to say that:

reading Mr. Skeffington is definitely causing me to change my mind about the author-ship of The Ordeal of Elizabeth. I now think that von Arnim did indeed write TOoE.

>27 lauralkeet:, >28 romain: I finished The Caravaners and enjoyed it so much!!

i have also been reading The Caravaners, and finished it last night. It was an old hardback edition so it had no introduction or afterword, which I find useful in the VMC editions. The novel reminded me of some of Katherine Mansfield's early stories in its satire of the "German character", though on the whole it was more successful than them (I wonder if it was ever published in Germany and, if so, what the reaction was).

I thought 'Elizabeth' was very daring to write from the point of view of an arrogant, pedantic German army officer who seemed to be completely unaware of his effect on his travelling companions, and on women in particular. It must have been hard to sustain this for a whole novel but presumably she actually knew people like this (they did and, surprisingly do still, exist). I enjoyed it and now have to toss up between The Jasmine Farm and Expiation, neither of which I know anything about, for the next one.

I'm hoping to start The Enchanted April soon - I read the first chapter last night and it was delicious, but I need a palate cleanser in the form of a classic crime book before I commit myself emotionally to this one! :)

I am over 200 pages into The Caravaners. Still very funny but sadly I think the impossible Baron was her own husband. I seem to remember that he went to prison for fraud and she moved back to England with her kids. But, as we all know, she didn't do any better with her second husband, right?

I finished Mr Skeffington yesterday. Really enjoyed it, I have pretty much loved everything I have so far read by Elizabeth von Arnim.

I loved Mr Skeffington too. After a week off from von Arnim, I've now started Fraulein Schmidt and Mr Anstruther.

I finished The Caravaners in bed last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. I lived in Germany for 4 years in the 90s and loved it. It was one of the happiest times of my life. For a start, under the EU, they paid me to stay home with my son for 2 years, for which I will always be grateful. But anyone who has ever dealt with German bureaucracy will tell you that the Baron is still very much alive and well and that you will be 'corrected' if you don't dot every 'i' and cross every 't'. I highly recommend this book. It was a delight from start to finish.

>36 romain: I worked in the UK but my boss was based in Germany (and was German). And oh yes, the Baron definitely reminded me of him!

I was going to stop with the Von Arnim books, having finished Fraulein Schmidt and Mr Anstruther. But having seen the praise from Laura, Grant and romain for The caravaners I've decided to try and fit it in before the end of the month.

Fraulein Schmidt was a delightful heroine, refusing to say or do what people expect of her (unless it was what she wanted in the first place), loyal to her father and her friends and with a sharp eye for human nature and its failings. Although it was a bit slow to get started, this ended up being a very enjoyable read.

I've now finished the wonderful Enchanted April - what a lovely book! I'll review it eventually but it was just the sunny tonic I needed in a grey English April....

I've finished The caravaners, which was a good read. And that is my last von Arnim for the month.

Just managed to squeak my review of The Enchanted April in before the end of the month and here it is:

https://kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2017/04/30/wisteria-and-sunshine-v...

May's thread will be up by the end of the day...

May's Willa Cather thread is here.

Vera (4½****) to conclude Von Arnim in April.

I wish I had stumbled upon this thread sooner. I've read a few of Arnim's books: In The Mountains & The Enchanted April. We sent my aunt a copy of All The Dogs of My Life and she absolutely loved it. Her writing is so peaceful. :)

I have a hard time getting my hands on Von Arnim titles out here; the local library (ies) has/have next to nothing in their Von Arnim collection. It's hard to figure out why.

I would describe The Jasmine Farm as a comedy of manners with elements of farce. The first part starts at a weekend country-house party at which the aristocratic hostess commits an unexpected series of errors involving the serving of gooseberries. A large number of characters are introduced and it takes a while to sort them all out. The second part is largely set on the titular jasmine farm in the south of France to which said hostess has escaped. In between there are scandal, betrayal and much light comedy. It is set in the early 1930s as passing reference is made to political events in Germany. Although not as good as Elizabeth von Arnim's best work this is still well worth reading.

Similarly, Expiation is about "proper behaviour", misunderstandings and elements of scandal. One really feels sympathy for Milly, from whose point of view it is written, in her dealings with the Botts, her late husband's family and the self-appointed guardians of polite behaviour in their provincial town. It is very readable but what detracts from it is a number of coincidences which are used to advance the plot - one of these is so unlikely it frankly seems incredible to me. Definitely the least successful of my Elizabeth von Arnim reads, leaving me with only one of her books in my library unread. Now, just a few days into the month, the decks are at last clear for Willa Cather.

I was feeling badly because my attempts with Christopher and Columbus failed, but I see that others have not adored it either, so now I don't feel quite as guilty. Expectations are everything, and I was looking for another Enchanted April and of course they can't all be that, right?

Also, I'm sorry to have confused anyone with being Buried In Print but not Stuck in a Book. Although I suspect Simon feels the former and I've often been chastised for having my nose in one too. I'm sure we have more in common than not. No offense taken on any count and all cute cat pics much appreciated.

Should have given up on C&C sooner, as now I'm dreadfully late with Cather month, so must get over there and read up to see what you're all up to!