Elizabeth and Her German Garden

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Paparunas, Penny. Geschlechterdiskurs um 1900 – Review of Elizabeth von Arnim's 'Elisabeth und ihr Garten'. Frauenzeitung 2 (2007): 41.

This is classified as a piece of semi-autobiographical literature and a classic. It was published in 1898, when Elizabeth von Arnim (1866-1941) was still married to her first husband Henning August von Arnim-Schlagenthin, a Prussian aristocrat. Married in 1891 she became known as Elizabeth von Arnim, although she was born Mary Annette Beauchamp. This is a woman who came to be known under several names, but Elizabeth von Arnim became her most used pen name and by which she is known to family and friends. She was British, but born in Australia. Soon after marriage, she came to live at her husband’s family estate in Nass Derham, Ruth (2021). Bertrand's Brother: The Marriages, Morals and Misdemeanours of Frank, 2nd Earl Russell. Stroud: Amberley. pp.257–283. ISBN 9781398102835. Elizabeth Von Arnim was evidently a very cosmopolitan woman, and that shows in the novel. In fact, from reading the novel I would have thought her an aristocratic German raised, as many were, by English and French governesses. We tend to forget that the Gilded Age society was extremely well traveled and spoke several languages. But I read in her biographical note that the novel is "semi-autobiographical" and maybe this is one way in which the author distances herself from the text. That's what intrigued me, and if I can find a biography of Von Arnim that untangles truth from fiction, I'll definitely read it. From the review of Elizabeth and Her German Garden by Elizabeth von Arnim in The Lincoln, Nebraska Courier, August, 1900: This book really needs a different title. Elizabeth and Her German Garden suggests that this is a traditional gardening memoir but it is only partly that. One part garden memoir, two parts memoir about a bad marriage and a desire to escape most people and society, in general. Elizabeth retreats to the outdoors whenever possible, usually into her garden, where she finds beauty, peace and solace. She spends full days out of doors, reading and spending time with her 3 children. A bonus, she escapes her husband, the aptly-named "Man of Wrath" about whom she writes with great wit.

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a b Kiek, Miranda (8 November 2011) Elizabeth von Arnim: The forgotten feminist who’s flowering again in The Independent. Retrieved 19 July 2020 Kellaway, Deborah. Gardening writers. In: The Cambridge Guide to Women’s Writing in English. Ed. Lorna Sage, advis. eds. Germaine Greer et al. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. 263f.

She had met von Arnim during an Italian tour with her father. They married in London but lived in Berlin and eventually moved to the countryside where, in Nassenheide, Pomerania, the von Arnims had their family estate. The couple had five children, four daughters and a son. The children's tutors at Nassenheide included E. M. Forster and Hugh Walpole. Hebe dich weg von mir, Sohn des Satans! = Get thee away from me, son of Satan! (this is a loose translation because literally "hebe dich" means "lift yourself") Le ore volano quando me ne sto rinchiusa con quei cataloghi e con il Dovere che ringhia astioso dall’altra parte della porta. Non mi piace il Dovere: ogni cosa come minimo sgradevole si può stare sicuri che è sempre il proprio dovere. Perché non può essere mio dovere compilare liste e fare progetti per il mio caro giardino? Katie Elizabeth Young, More than 'Wisteria and Sunshine': The Garden as a Space of Female Introspection and Identity in Elizabeth von Arnim's 'The Enchanted April' and 'Vera'. Master's thesis, Brigham University, 2011 ( PDF)Elizabeth and Her German Garden is a novel by Elizabeth von Arnim, first published in 1898; it was very popular and frequently reprinted during the early years of the 20th century. The story is a year's diary written by the protagonist Elizabeth about her experiences learning gardening and interacting with her friends. It includes commentary on the beauty of nature and on society, but is primarily humorous due to Elizabeth's frequent mistakes and her idiosyncratic outlook on life. She looked down upon the frivolous fashions of her time writing "I believe all needlework and dressmaking is of the devil, designed to keep women from study.' The book is the first in a series about the same character. It is noteworthy for being published without a named author. (Summary by Wikipedia) Unique Elements Elizabeth and Her German Garden by Australian author Elizabeth von Armin is a humorous semi-autobiographical fiction first published in 1898 in the United Kingdom. Isobel Maddison, ‘Elizabeth and Katherine’ in The Bloomsbury Handbook to Katherine Mansfield, ex Todd Martin, London: Bloomsbury, 2020

Will Satan mich verschlingen, so lass die Engel singen Hallelujah! = Satan wants to devour me, so let the angels sing Hallelujah! Nadia May reads the audiobook. Her accent is British. It fits perfectly here. She pauses at all the right places. A delightful narration worthy of four stars.There was a lot of satire here which made it an interesting read. The satire was directed at all quarters - her own self, her husband, her friends, relations, acquaintances and her household. I found it quite amusing that she should refer to her husband as "the man of wrath" and her babies as "April baby", " May baby" and "June baby". These interesting expressions gave a novelty to her writing. Katie Roiphe, Uncommon Arrangements: Seven Portraits of Married Life in London Literary Circles 1910–1939. New York: Dial Press, 2008 ISBN 9780385339377 Chiudo il libro con una certa soddisfazione perché questa lettura è risultata essere veramente piacevole. a b R. Sully (2012) British Images of Germany: Admiration, Antagonism & Ambivalence, 1860–1914, p. 120, New York: Springer. Retrieved 20 July 2020 (Google Books).

The Enchanted April’ by Elizabeth von Arnim (1922) edited with introduction by Isobel Maddison, Oxford: Oxford World’s Classics, 2022 — first scholarly edition Although Arnim never wrote a conventional autobiography, All the Dogs of My Life (1936), an account of her love for her pets, contains many glimpses of her glittering social circle. [26] Reception [ edit ] Elizabeth von Arnim Monument in Buk, Poland Pomerania is an area in the northeast part of Germany and northwest part of Poland, on the south shores of the Baltic Sea. Random interesting trivia: it's also the home of Malbork Castle, the largest castle in the world: But I must confess to having felt sometimes quite crushed when some grand person, examining the details of my home through her eyeglass, and coolly dissecting all that I so much prize from the convenient distance of the open window, has finished up by expressing sympathy with my loneliness, and on my protesting that I like it, has murmured, "sebr anspruchslos." Then indeed I have felt ashamed of the fewness of my wants; but only for a moment, and only under the withering influence of the eyeglass; for, after all, the owner's spirit is the same spirit as that which dwells in my servants--girls whose one idea of happiness is to live in a town where there are others of their sort with whom to drink beer and dance on Sunday afternoons. The passion for being for ever with one's fellows, and the fear of being left for a few hours alone, is to me wholly incomprehensible. I can entertain myself quite well for weeks together, hardly aware, except for the pervading peace, that I have been alone at all. Not but what I like to have people staying with me for a few days, or even for a few weeks, should they be as anspruchslos as I am myself, and content with simple joys; only, any one who comes here and would be happy must have something in him; if he be a mere blank creature, empty of head and heart, he will very probably find it dull. I should like my house to be often full if I could find people capable of enjoying themselves. They should be welcomed and sped with equal heartiness; for truth compels me to confess that, though it pleases me to see them come, it pleases me just as much to see them go. I like her. I like the standards she sets for her own deportment. She does not mope or complain. She is aware of the advantages life with her husband afford her. She appreciates what she has and makes the best of it. I like her positive attitude.

She looked down upon the frivolous fashions of her time writing “I believe all needlework and dressmaking is of the devil, designed to keep women from study.” Miranda Kiek (8 November 2011) "Elizabeth von Arnim: The forgotten feminist who’s flowering again", The Independent. Retrieved 19 July 2020. a b c d Maddison, Isobel (2012) 'A Second Flowering', pp.2-5. Katherine Mansfield Society. (published in the London Library Magazine, Issue 15, Spring 2012). Retrieved 18 July 2020 The writing is witty and confidential, drawing the reader in to Elizabeth's views on cooking (why do it yourself when you can hire someone to do it for you?), reading (a pleasure for her, though frowned on by the German upper class), and guests (some are tolerable, others less so, and even the best of them tiresome after a few weeks). She is defiantly independent, but does struggle to come across as pleasant and accommodating. In the middle of this plain is the oasis of bird cherries and greenery where I spend my happy days, and in the middle of the oasis is the gray stone house with many gables where I pass my reluctant nights.”