The Enchanted April Paperback – January 8, 2009

This book is as enchanting as a story as it was a movie. Wonderful tale of how a trip changes people’s lives.

Item arrived quickly, undamaged in shipment, a good read - Thanks !

I am partial to stories about people who successfully escape a mundane life and find magic, either the magic of fantasy stories or the more potent magic of discovering what one really has needed to live a rich life. The Enchanted April is the latter type of story.I was first acquainted with the story via the Golden Globe award-winning movie of the same name. Housewives Lottie Wilkins and Rose Arbuthnot, bedeviled by rain, dreary routines and joyless marriages in post WWI Hampstead, England, determine to spend an April at San Salvatore, a "Small mediaeval Italian Castle on the shores of the Mediterranean to be Let furnished for the month of April". Says Mrs. Wilkins to Mrs. Arbuthnot, "I'm sure it's wrong to go on being good for too long, till one gets miserable. And I can see you've been good for years and years, because you look so unhappy [. . .] and I--- I've done nothing but duties, things for other people, every since I was a girl, and I don't believe anybody loves me a bit--a bit---the b-better. . ."To San Salvatore they go, reducing the expenses further by recruiting two more women. Wealthy and elderly Mrs. Fisher and beautiful socialite (in fact, she is too beautiful for her own good) Lady Caroline Dester have their own reasons for wishing to take a break from their lives.Unusually enough, I like the movie a smidge more than the book. I think the movie handles certain situations more deftly and amusingly than the book. What the book provides, that the movie does not, is a touch of kindly social satire that reminded me of Jane Austin, and a clearer account of the mistaken notions that have landed all four women in their individual pickles. Author Elizabeth von Arnim clearly likes her characters, but she does not present them as saintly women put upon by a wicked and unappreciative world. They are flawed. Their flaws, however, are presented in such a way as to evoke sympathy and, rather unexpectedly, amusement.In fact, I believe that the character portraits of the women, and the men in their lives, are the book's strength and the best reason to read it. Van Arnim's characters blossom from their pinched and unsatisfactory lives like the flowers of San Salvatore, and it is a pleasure to watch them bloom in their several quirky ways. I think the other strength of the book is the gorgeous descriptions of San Salvatore, with its gardens, its spacious rooms, and its magnificent views. The book is a testament to the healing and clarifying effects of living in the midst of natural beauty.Reading The Enchanted April is itself a vacation from modern-day melodrama, angst, and ugliness. Bask in van Armin's sometimes lush and always light-hearted prose, and imagine yourself in felicitous company in the gardens of San Salvatore. I know I did!Don't forget to view the movie, too.

Enchanted April -Elizabeth Von ArmenAudio performance by Eleanor Bron3 starsFour women of various ages decide to share the rent of an Italian villa for the month of April. Two of the women are bored and dissatisfied with their marriages, one is a selfish elderly widow, and the fourth is a snobbish, young, single aristocrat.I loved the setting of this book. I want to book a month's vacation there. Although, I would definitely choose different companions. The book was first published in 1922; so the mannerisms, concerns and personalities of these women were a bit dated. I just could not warm up to any of them. I was expecting more feminine bonding in the course of the story and was very disappointed with the arrival of the husbands. The easy resolutions in marital relations were too simplistic for the seriously troubled relationships.At the end, I just wanted to shoo all of the annoying people out of the villa, so I could go sit on the terrace and enjoy the beautiful view in peace!I previewed several audio versions of this book before settling on Eleanor Bron. She gave a solid performance with a good variety of voices for the different characters.

"To Those Who Appreciate Wistaria and Sunshine. Small mediaeval Italian Castle on the shores of the Mediterranean to be let furnished for the month of April."Seduced by the above advertisement, practical British housewives Lottie Wilkins and Rose Arbuthnot decide to pool their savings together and rent for a month, part of an Italian castle in San Salvatore, Italy. They barely know each other or the other women who will be sharing the castle with them, a beautiful, world weary socialite, Lady Caroline Dester; and an elderly woman who longs for the better, more refined days of her youth, Mrs. Fisher.Lottie wants to get away from the drudgery of being a housewife and Rose wants to get away from her loveless marriage. Lady Caroline just wants to be left alone and Mrs. Fisher desires solitude in which to better treasure her memories. Thrown in together for a month in San Salvatore's beautiful setting, each character blooms.Mrs. Fisher relaxes her disapproving and mean demeanor. Lady Caroline begins to open herself to others. Unhappy Rose blossoms with re-invigorated love for her husband, who also falls back in love with her. But the most delightful character is Lottie, who goes from being meek and hesitant to quickly embracing the magic of San Salvatore. Her unshakeable belief in San Salvatore's transformative power and sheer joy for living is infectious."...it is heaven, isn't it, Rose? See how everything has been let in together--the dandelions and the irises, the vulgar and the superior, me and Mrs. Fisher--all welcome, all mixed up anyhow, and all so visibly happy and enjoying ourselves.""Mrs. Fisher doesn't seem happy - not visibly, anyhow," said Mrs. Arbuthnot, smiling."She'll begin soon, you'll see." ... Mrs. Wilkins said she was sure no one, however old and tough could resist the effects of perfect beauty. Before many days, perhaps only hours, they would see Mrs. Fisher bursting out into every kind of exuberance.Never has Italy been so beautiful as it is in this book - stunning passages of the countryside (as compared to wet and dreary England) that evoke the same feelings of wonder in the characters."All down the stone steps on either side were periwinkles, in full flower, and she could now see what it was that had caught at her the night before and brushed, wet and scented, across her face. It was wistaria. Wistaria and sunshine .. She remembered the advertisement. Here indeed were both in profusion. The wistaria was tumbling over itself in its excess of life, its progality of flowering; and where the pergola ended, the sun blazed on scarlet geraniums, bushes of them, and nasturtiums in great heaps, and marigolds so brilliant that they seemed to be burning...all outdoing each other in bright fierce colour."

Great purchase, came in timely and in perfect condition. This is a book very few people know of, a very simple and sweet story from the 1930s of for women spending a month in Italy and Darrel lives being changed. It is old-fashioned, sweet and clean. Only people who like descriptional and classical literature will appreciate this.

Vey well written. I was surprised that once I started I wanted to read this in one go, more than five hours. Then I watched the film.

Fácil de leer, lectura muy agradable y amena. Inspira paz y alegría de vivir

je relis ce livre quasiment tous les ans au mois d'avril depuis des années. je ne m'en lasse pas. Un vrai bonbon anglais ! on aurait toutes envies de réunir les copines et de partir un mois à San Salvatore en avril et d'en revenir transformées comme les héroïnes de ce roman !

Such an enchanting read this! I wasn’t sure quite what to expect but I really wasn’t prepared to be drawn as deeply into it as I was, complete with highlighter and all :)This is my first Von Arnim, and she is already a favourite because of the way she writes women! We meet four women in the pages of this book - Lotty, Rose, Scrap and Mrs. Fisher - each one unique in her character and in the nature of her unhappiness - yet thrown together by their chosen common cure - a holiday in an Italian castle in the Spring - that season of rejuvenation, renewal and rebirth.Von Arnim is a master at character sketches. The women leap off the page, each with their unique foibles and I was transported to San Salvatore, lost with them, as they roamed its magical gardens or hid away in quiet niches contemplating perceived problems or meditating on possible solutions. When they reached journey's end, I was as reluctant to leave as they were but equally renewed and perhaps in a not so insignificant way - reborn :)Von Arnim's language, her excellent wit and sense of irony, her piercing observations into the hearts of her characters and the times they live in, coupled with her incisive prose and layered narrative made this an utterly unforgettable and entirely remarkable read. It's been a while since I read such marvellously written, authentic, grounded women, and truth be told it was hard to pick a favourite. I loved Lotty for her indomitable optimism, her willingness to be joyful, to 'let the light in' as it were; Rose for her serenity, fortitude and courage; Scrap for her madness, reserve and humanity and dear old Mrs. Fisher for her perseverance and willingness to embrace change when it came! I think everyone who reads this book will recognise themselves and their friends in these wonderfully complex, layered women. I know I did.There are many lines I've highlighted throughout the text. Here are just a few...And Frederick, from her passionately loved bridegroom, from her worshipped young husband, had become second only to God on her list of duties and forbearance. There he hung, the second in importance, a bloodless thing bled white by her prayers. For years she had been able to be happy only by forgetting happiness....the very way Mrs. Arbuthnot parted her hair suggested a great calm that could only proceed from wisdom....her life had been a noise all about nothing.She wanted to be alone, but not lonely.Those last two sentiments especially are ones that I'm uncomfortably familiar with, as I'm sure are most of us. I cannot recommend this book enough, especially to my girlfriends! READ IT NOW :)