I'll be starting with The Solitary Summer!

If people are looking for recommendations on where to begin, the two I've already read--The Enchanted April and Elizabeth and her German Garden--are wonderful.

I'll be reading German Garden sometime this month!

I've read (and enjoyed) Elizabeth and Her German Garden. I checked my library's online catalog, and The Enchanted April is available at a branch near me. And Christina - if you say it's good, then it must be!

The Enchanted April is on its way to my library and will hopefully arrive today or tomorrow.

I packed The Enchanted April around for years and years and finally read it last summer. I thought it was delightful and wondered why I had taken so long to get to it. I was lucky to be able to read it in Italy, about 50 miles from where the book was set. Even if you're not in Italy, I still think you're in for a treat with this one!

I'll be reading Love.

I just picked up The Enchanted April from the library this weekend. Unfortunately, I also picked up 6 non-renewable interlibrary loans that I will have to read first.

Just re-discovered this group - Talbin I saw your post in Girlybooks, thanks!

I read Elizabeth and her German Garden earlier this year and liked it. I'll try to read The Solitary Summer this month.

I've got Elizabeth and her German Garden on order at the bookshop - although they did say a 6-8 week wait! (Dagnabbit.)

In the meantime, Mum has lent me her only von Arnim novel - Love. Seems to be no touchstones for this one! (And she's dead keen to borrow Elizabeth and her German Garden when I pick it up from the bookshop!)

Hi! Just joined this group. I have not read any of Elizabeth von Arnim's books yet. I'll start with The Enchanted April.

Hmmm ... not sure if I'll read a von Arnim this month but it occurs to me I should most certainly watch The Enchanted April, which Netflix graciously delivered to me some time ago. I saw it years ago in the cinema, but it deserves a second viewing, IMO.

The Enchanted April is also available for free on YouTube. At least it was a few months ago.

I have finished reading The Enchanted April. My review,

http://www.librarything.com/work/150163/...

Or on my 50 Book Challenge thread,

http://www.librarything.com/topic/72408

So far this month I have read Elizabeth and her German Garden and The Solitary Summer and I am up to her Third Day of The Adventures of Elizabeth in Rugen which is very funny, so far. I enjoyed the first two book, especially the scenes with The Man of Wrath and the Babies. I find her a very entertaining writer and am looking forward to reading more of her books this month.

>14 Once again you are 'leading the charge', englishrose! :)

I am waiting for the current patron of Elizabeth and her German Garden to return it to my local library... If it's not back by the end of the week I'll read my ebook version instead or go with The Caravaners which I found at a used bookstore a while back.

I noticed Powell's had a copy of Enchanted April at the store near me, so I scooted in and bought it. It was odd, they had her books mis-shelved. The German Garden was in the the Van section .... instead of Von ... and Enchanted April was under Arnim. Glad I thought to investigate!

>16 Yeah, sometimes it pays to 'think laterally' in such places.... :)

Finished The Adventures of Elizabeth in Rugen - enjoyed her humour and emphasised with her frustration with her cousin. I am really enjoying her books, and have started Fraulein Schmidt and Mr Anstruther. Delightful letters from Fraulein Schmidt to Mr Anstruther.

Finished Fraulein Schmidt and Mr. Anstruther - once again von Arnim has enchanted me.

Now looking forward to The Caravaners.

I finished The Enchanted April today and found it delightful. I've decided to read Vera next, and am waiting for it to come in to the library.

I began with The Enchanted April and was, of course, enchanted. (my second read of it this year) Then I read Elizabeth and Her German Garden and quite loved it. I wanted to be Elizabeth and have that life. I am now reading The Adventures of Elizabeth in Rugen and then will probably pick up her Vera and hopefully still have time for The Pastor's Wife and Christopher and Columbus. We'll see. I am in the midst of War and Peace and Life and Fate as well. So as time allows...............
belva

>#14:
Valerie;
In Elizabeth and Her German Garden I loved the scenes in which "the Man of Wrath", Elizabeth, and Irais teased Minora outrageously and it was so very over her head; so many laugh out loud moments!~! It is probably not very nice, but I loved those moments.
I read this book with great envy. I would have loved to be living Elizabeth's life here.
Love this part:

"Minora does not like either Irais or myself. We very soon discovered that, and laugh about it when we are alone together. I can understand her disliking Irais, but she must be a perverse creature not to like me. Irais has poked fun at her, and I have been, I hope, very kind; yet we are bracketed together in her black books. It is also apparent that she looks upon the Man of Wrath as an interesting example of an ill-used and misunderstood husband, and she is disposed to take him under her wing, and defend him on all occasions against us. He never speaks to her; he is at all times a man of few words, but, as far as Minora is concerned, he might have no tongue at all, and sits sphinx-like and impenetrable while she takes us to task about some remark of a profane nature that we may have addressed to him."
She just seems to have no snap and that written into the book with the wit of the other three main characters makes for very jolly reading. I enjoyed this book immensely.
belva.

I'm reading German Garden at the moment. I love von Arnim's sense of humour. I'm up to 'November 20th'

Belva, Belva, Belva! I just have to thank you for leading me to this group. I have been reading Enchanted April and absolutely love von Arnim. I recently picked up German Garden from the library. Of course, I could use them for my 75 book challenge but my ABC challenge and TBR's are being sorely neglected.

Message edited by its author, Nov 15, 2009, 9:30am.

I have at last started The Caravaners.

relating to englishrose60's post of reading The Caravaners; I am just wondering if there is any relationship with the famed Baron von Kindle going on here:

"This story is written from the perspective of Baron Ottringel, a Prussian military officer,"

If so, urania1 must read this one.

And my goodness, Valerie, how many von Arnim's do you own?
belva

Belva, I have 11 von Arnim's. Just need All the Dogs of My Life.

Read The Caravaners. This novel is full of von Arnim's acid wit. The Baron is an arrogant and prejudiced MCP, whose character comes across wonderfully in this narration of a caravaning holiday in England with his long-suffering wife and others.
Great stuff although I had to wince at his views on wives and the Jewish people. A thought provoking read. Very good.

Valerie;
That one is supposedly "laugh out loud" funny. Did you find it so?
belva

The Pastor's Wife by Elizabeth von Arnim. Ingeborg escapes the bondage of being a Bishop's daughter by becoming a Pastor's wife and moving from England to Germany. She is frustrated by the conventions of marriage and motherhood. A very good story of the plight of women in a world dominated by men.

Belva, I found some of the situations The Caravaners found themselves in very funny but I did not LOL, but then I was not in the lightest of moods when I read it.

I have read Love. It started off as a delicious comedy of manners, along the lines of Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day, so I was a bit flattened by the terribly sad way that it developed. I did enjoy reading it, but it was a much more serious book than I was expecting.

I finished The Enchanted April this week and absolutely loved it. Read it if you haven't! (Here's my review for anyone who's interested.) My only regret is that I got it from the library - I'll have to start haunting the Virago threads for extra copies. ;-)

Great review, Talbin. I agree with every word you said.

Just finished Christopher and Columbus. Full of von Arnim's humour, but also showing the disadvantages of being half-German during wartime in England and America. The Twinkler twins are delightful characters.

>34 Aren't they? That is the Von Arnim I am reading right now as well.

Christina, glad you like them too. I shall be starting Vera tonight.

Touchstone not working.

Message edited by its author, Nov 23, 2009, 5:15pm.

Vera Rather a disturbing story of Lucy who falls in love with Wemyss whose wife, Vera, had died in mysterious circumstances. Very good.

Touchstone not loading.

It seems that every mention of a von Arnim book brings good remarks. I, for one, have fallen in love with her writing and I wonder why I had overlooked her when I believe she's just as good (dare I say) if not more enjoyable than Austen. Arnim's witty, sometimes sarcastic humour and love of gardens have me wanting more and more of her books.

Carmenere, before this monthly read and collecting VMC's I had not read any of her books. Since reading her books I have become a firm favourite of her writing. Her humour is less subtle than Austen's but great fun.

The Enchanted April. Loved this story about four women who rent a house in Italy for a holiday. They each have different reasons for wanting to escape their normal lives and after a month in Italy each of their lives is transformed.

Two more to read - Love and Mr Skeffington.

Read Love. A bittersweet story of love between a middle-aged women and a much younger man.

No touchstone.

Mr Skeffington. This is my last Elizabeth von Arnim book and I wish I had more of her work. Another good one from this author about a woman approaching her fiftieth birthday coming to terms with the fact that she is no longer young and beautiful. Very good.

Thanks for mentioning your lastest von Arnim's, englishrose, I'll keep a look out for those two. I just finished Elizabeth and her German Garden and LOVED IT!

Carmenere, that was one of my favourites. In fact I enjoyed them all.

This has been a good reading month (well nominated, digifish_books!). Reading more of von Arnim has simply encouraged me to read even more of her soon. That's one of the marks of a good writer. :)

Purchased LOVE online yesterday. Look forward to reading that one even after November is over. Oops, I guess it already is ;)

>45 Thanks, I'm glad everyone enjoyed von Arnim!

I completed Elizabeth and her German Garden, Solitary Summer and The Enchanted April; the latter being my pick so far (and I watched the movie again and still love it). Unfortunately, I didn't get around to The Caravaners.

November was my favorite of all the Author of the Month groups I have participated in. Elizabeth von Arnim is just such a wonderful author that it is easy to love her works. I haven't read one book of hers that was not outstanding!~!
belva

Well, I ran late, but I did finish Elizabeth and Her German Garden. Yes, it was short, but I seem to run out of reading time, so it took several days to finish!

But it was delightfully charming, I did enjoy it.

There was a mention of a contemporary review in the introduction to my edition which mentioned that the amateur gardener would be bitterly disappointed because it gave no advice on when to prune or how to deal with garden pests.

Methinks that reviewer missed the point, somehow.

(And it reminds me of the review for Lady Chatterley's Lover for some English country magazine that praised it as a truthful representation of an gameskeeper's life.)

To me, while it was delightful and full of whimsical frippery (and lists of flowers I've never heard of), there was also quite a serious undertone similar to that in Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own: women need space, peace, and something to interest them. Of course, I think most people would be bloody lucky to have enough money to have leisure time like Elizabeth! I particularly liked a brief comment at the beginning: ...and all forms of needlework of the fancy order are inventions of the evil one for keeping the foolish from applying their hearts to wisdom.

Exactly. Women need proper intellectual stimulation, not pretend work that keep their hands busy but their minds idle. (Of course, the ideal situation would be a stitch'n'bitch group, but that's some decades after Ms von Arnim.) Luckily Elizabeth has the fortitude to ignore the conventions of a stultifying society, and spend her time doing what she wants: reading, gardening, and ignoring all forms of housework.

What an ideal life!