One dreary and soggy day in London, Mrs. Wilkins reads an ad in the paper:

To Those who Appreciate Wisteria and Sunshine. Small medieval Italian Castle on the shores of the Mediterranean to be Let Furnished for the month of April. Necessary servants remain. Z, Box 1000, The Times.

Thus begins the story of Mrs. Wilkins, Mrs. Arbuthnot, Mrs. Fisher and the beautiful Lady Caroline Drester. Each have their own reasons for wanting to get out of London--lack luster marriages, a life buried in the past, and too much of a good thing in the present. The beauty and atmosphere of this tranquil place begins to work its magic on each of them, much like a flower bud that slowly opens up and begins to bloom in the garden after a much needed rain. What happens here and what they discover about themselves changes their lives forever.

I loved this story of yearning and desire, wanting more out life--to live! The first chapter or so seemed to drag a bit but then I couldn't put it down. This is a great book to read after a bout of heavy reading. I found it a refreshing change.

What a delightful book! I think it's almost perfect in its execution. In The Enchanted April, Elizabeth von Arnim introduces us to four women: Lotty Wilkins, Rose Arbuthnot, Mrs. Fisher and Lady Caroline Dester. Mrs. Wilkins and Mrs. Arbuthnot see an small ad in a paper advertising an Italian castle for rent for the month of April. Quite impetuously, they decide to rent it. In order to defray the costs, they find two other women to share the rent: Mrs. Fisher and Lady Dester. Each woman arrives in Italy with her own private sorrow, but over time the magical atmosphere of the place changes them, allowing each to open her heart and become herself.

Von Arnim is a gifted portraitist - the women are so carefully and skillfully drawn that the reader feels as if she knows them. And she handles each transformation so skillfully that you can almost visualize the difference in the women. For some, the ending may be a bit hokey, but I found that it fit. I've read a few reviews that call The Enchanted April "chick lit," and I've been thinking about it. Personally, I think The Enchanted April is as much chick lit as Pride and Prejudice - which is to say, not really. Of course, the genre (if you will) didn't really exist until sometime in the 1980s or so, and it is meant to classify specific forms and themes. The Enchanted April may incorporate that form and those themes, but it did so about sixty years earlier. A precursor, perhaps, but no more than that. In my mind, this is a book that - yes - focuses on women and explores the theme of transformation, but that it does it so well, so tightly and in such a well-observed way, that The Enchanted April rises above being boxed into a strict category.

In any case, I loved this book. Elizabeth von Arnim has crafted a tightly crafted, beautiful novel about what is possible when you open your heart to others. ( )

On a regular old February afternoon, Mrs. Wilkins chances across an advertisement for a house to let in Italy for the month of April. Such a trip would, of course, be extravagant, but she can't seem to get the ad out of her mind. Then, she sees Mrs. Arbuthnot perusing the same advertisement. These two women, who up until now have never spoken, hit upon a plan: find two others to join them on this selfish trip and split the cost accordingly. Just imagine all the good this holiday could do them...

This delightful tale introduces the reader to four women - Lotty Wilkins, Rose Arbuthnot, Mrs. Fisher, and Lady Caroline Dester. All of them have their own private unhappiness, reasons that they have decided to come away and want to be left alone. Their internalized thoughts, dreams, and loneliness make up the majority of the plot, as their stay in San Salvatore works in magic on them. The warm and languid tone of the writing matches their ideal Italian holiday of rest and relaxation, and is infused with humor. A truly enchanting read. ( )

The Enchanted April is a fluffy, easy read. It’s pretty well written and the flow of the story is good.

It is the story of four women. Each unhappy with their own lives, decide to spend a month in Italy living in a charming castle.

According to von Arnim the solution to all of their problems is simple, a dose of good old family life with husband and children.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I do believe in marriage and children. I just happen to think that if you are discontent with yourself or your life you can never be happy and you lose the power to make anyone else happy for that matter.

Great personal unhappiness and a general dissatisfaction with life will not be solved as if by magic. Elizabeth von Arnim would have us believe that romantic love and marriage is the solution to all of our problems. Well, it isn’t.

In the end everything is beautifully tucked away in their own little corners. The married ladies realize that they are passionately still in love with their husbands and go back to them, the unmarried one finds a boyfriend/husband and the old, childless widow finds a whole bunch of surrogate children. Now, if only real life was that simple!

The premise of the story was good. It certainly had possibilities and von Arnim does indeed have a delightful way of writing. If only the characters developed in a different way, if only the women found something deep within themselves instead of looking for it within the men in their lives, the book could have been something more.

On the whole I’d say, if you are fond of chick lit you’ll probably love this. Otherwise, don’t bother.

Rose feels neglected by her writer husband, and Lottie is tired of being "good." The remedy they suppose is to get away for a month, using money they have saved, without their husbands. They decide to rent a small castle in Italy, and they recurit two other ladies along to help foot the bill.

Lady Caroline, or Scrap, is a young, high society girl and Mrs. Foster is an old widow with a cane. They join Rose & Lottie after replying to an ad requesting traveling/vacation companions.

The four are off and soon arrive at the most beautiful setting. They become close, as sisters, and the effect of their surroundings awakens the stale love in Rose & Lottie for their husbands. Soon the husbands are invited to join the vaction. Lottie & Rose rekindle the romance and are reminded of life as newlyweds.

Scrap meets the owner of the resort when he comes to check on his guests. He is smitten and she is scared. Love has always done her wrong in the past. At the end of the story they are seen walking through a garden and the converstaion leads one to believe that they will be happy together. A match made in paradise.

Mrs. Foster who only had her "dead authors" to keep her company before the trip, has now adopted the young couples as children. She, once a fussy old woman, has now acquired a softened heart. ( )