4 stars ☆

✎ . . . ❝ why, it would really be being unselfish to go away and be happy for a little, because we would come back so much nicer. ❞ .ೃ࿐

˚₊‧꒰ა genres + tropes ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
-fiction
-historical
-romance

˚₊‧꒰ა plot ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
okay so first of all i read this on a train while visiting italy and then finished on the beach back home so my experience w/ reading this was honestly so magical

Another 5 star-er!

Charming, beautiful and wonderfully witty! This was a complete hidden gem, but I loved it, loved the writing which was lyrical, loved the characters, who were all drawn to minuscule detail and mostly loved the exquisite descriptions of Italy and the flowering and fragrance of early April

The prose in this book is absolutely exquisite. The descriptions of San Salvatore (really Castello Brown in Portofino) are to die for, and Von Arnim's character studies are so delicate and sensitive. The problem was that I really fucking hated the story. It is so infuriatingly sexist.

When the book begins, Mrs. Wilkins and Mrs. Arbuthnot, women in their late twenties/early thirties, completely ignored, neglected and humiliated by their husbands, decided to rent a castle in Italy for a month to get away from their trash husbands and finally think of themselves for once in their lives. (They get two more women to go with them, the mean old lady Mrs Fisher and the gorgeous young Lady Caroline).

The first half of the book is excellent and I was enthralled as little by little the many sorrows of these women were exposed, and as they rediscovered their dignity and self-worth. Frankly I was hoping they would both get divorces and start a lesbian affair or at least find nice hot Italian young men but alas it was not to be.

Within the first day of arriving in the castle, Mrs. Wilkins decides she's going to invite her husband to join her, she's so full of joy and forgiveness for being in a beautiful place. Well it's only downhill from there. Mrs Wilkins and Mrs Arbuthnot discover that THEY were actually in the wrong in their marriages all the time, that they should have loved their husbands even if they didn't love them back, that they BORED them, that it was their fault they were cheated on, even!

And the husbands appear in San Salvatore for reasons that have nothing to do with their wives (Mr Wilkins, a lawyer, comes because he wants to make Lady Caroline his client; Mr Arbuthnot didn't even know his wife was going to be there and actually went to flirt with Lady Caroline), do not even realise or care that they were awful disgusting beasts to their wives for years, and proceed to do absolutely nothing in the way of amends. But now that the silly women accept that they were the awful ones and start acting nicer, the marriages are fixed! (Mrs Fisher discovers that she's unhappy because she's childless, and Lady Caroline of course is unhappy because she's unmarried, then proceeds to find a husband). AND THAT'S IT. THAT'S THE BOOK.

n  n

Oh I've seen a lot of people go "oh but they had to reconcile with their husbands because this was written in the 1920s". But if this HAD to be the ending, the husbands should have at least gone to San Salvatore because THEY realised that they had been taking their wives for granted and treating them like garbage. They should have missed them. They should have acted consciously to change their ways. They should have grovelled and not even expected forgiveness. (This isn't a newfangled modern feminist idea either, it's right there in Pride and Prejudice for example, and that was written over 100 years before this.)

And another thing that really gets me is that, since no one actually talked about their problems, and the husbands didn't even realise they'd done anything wrong in the first place, these people are just going to go back to England and continue to have the same exact problems.

I'm just really mad at this book and at everyone who recommends it as a feel-good, romantic story.

This was such an “enchanting”, delightful book. Much as the four women were cast under the spell of the Castello and the surroundings, I was cast under the spell of this book.
Four women, previously unknown to each other, decide to rent the Castello together for the month of April. Each of them has her own reason for needing to get out of wet dreary London.
My favourite of the four was Lottie Wilkins. Her first morning after arrival (they had arrived late at night), when she opened her shutters to gaze upon her surroundings, she thought:
“ Such beauty; and she alive to feel it.... Not to have died before this...to have been allowed to see, breathe, feel this. She stared, her lips parted. Happy? Poor ordinary, everyday word. But what could one say, how could one describe it? It was as though she could hardly stay inside herself, it was as though she were washed through with light.”
Having been to Tuscany, I could feel and imagine exactly how she felt. The beauty there is stunning and the author captured it beautifully with her writing.

This book is about reconnecting with the ones you love; it is about opening yourself to new people; it is about glorifying in the beauty of nature.

I loved the simplicity of this book. A lovely read! I highly recommend losing yourself in its pages and words.

Update: 27 Nov 2023.
Just listened to this book. Read by Nadia May. I loved the audio- so fantastic to listen to this one. I loved it even more this time around( number 3) that I am bumping it up to 5 stars.

NO MAGIC IN THE AIR

Not enchanted, alas. Despite April. Despite Italy. Despite Mrs Fisher.

I have been looking forward to reading this novel for a few years. I promised myself to do it necessarily in April, hoping spring will make Elizabeth von Arnim’s book even lovelier. Unfortunately, I kept forgetting about my plan. This year I remembered. As it seems, it wouldn’t have been a big loss if I had let it slip from memory.

My main problem with this novel: it apotheoses two 'truths' which I find harmful and have seen in action, complicating people’s lives. I mean Elizabeth von Arnim’s belief that:
☛ A woman is not complete without a man. The man is cold and dishonest? A slithery self-promoter? Never mind! A man is a key to happiness anyway.
☛ A change of place solves your problems. If you have troubles, go on a trip abroad. Everything will be fixed miraculously. Not accidentally, the castle where the characters are staying is called San Salvatore - a saviour.

I am aware that we should not see the novel only from a contemporary point of view but Elizabeth von Arnim sends mixed signals. In the first part of the novel, I admired her boldness. In 1922, when Enchanted April was published, it took courage to remind women that they are independent human beings and shouldn’t see themselves as their husband's body part or propriety, that they deserve happiness, quality me-time and their own space, symbolized in the novel by own room and own bed. Even nowadays lots of women need to be reminded about these things – in 1922 it must have sounded revolutionary! I was truly impressed.


Claude Monet

Then suddenly everything changes and the arrival of Mr Wilkins in San Salvatore is the turning point: Elizabeth von Arnim starts to contradict herself. Out of a sudden, it turns out that a man is an absolutely necessary condition for a woman’s happiness. And then comes the shocking finale of the novel, with farce esthetics. Plus all the swift and spectacular changes in the characters' attitudes and personalities, as if they were touched with a magic wand. The world would be a paradise if people turned into angels in a flash but most of them do not. These immediate personality alterations felt artificial. I desperately sought any signals, any indications that the weird ending of this book is ironic. None found, unfortunately. Apparently, we are supposed to believe in the express idyll.

Another thing I was not happy about: I had the impression that the author portrayed four TYPES of women, not the four individuals. A lot of time is devoted to their characterization but at times we seem to run in circles: the same features of personality are emphasized. I guess one of the reasons we don’t get close enough to the four ladies is the fact that the narrator very often uses their surnames. It felt awkward and made the story more difficult to relate to.

It irritated me that according to Elizabeth von Arnim men fall solely into three categories:
➔ Obtrusive womanizers who change the objects of their affection with the speed of light, vide Mr Briggs.
➔ Money-obsessed social climbers, vide Mr Wilkins.
➔ Mixtures of the types mentioned above, vide Mr Arbuthnot.
I read in the preface that Elizabeth von Arnim's love life was unhappy, which might explain her opinion, but the three male caricatures with no competition from someone decent felt like an annoying generalization.


Józef Mehoffer

As for the setting, it is as bewitching as I expected but let’s face it, it was a sure-fire hit: a picturesque Italian castle at the sea in spring... Nonetheless, it takes talent to describe such a scenery vividly and Elizabeth von Arnim did that. I adore her vibrant descriptions of nature, especially flowers. The book is truly atmospheric, the rhythm of lazy sunny days in breathtaking surroundings combined with delicious food urge you to pack your suitcase and leave for Italy NOW. But even sitting comfortably in your armchair you can see, hear, smell and touch the San Salvatore garden. I liked the way von Arnim shows the influence of nature on people.

I also enjoyed the author’s sense of humour and wish there were more of it in the novel. My favourite character was Mrs Fisher with her gruffness and Victorian literary memories. The tension between her and Mrs Wilkins was utterly hilarious!

I am very sorry if my review hurts anybody's feelings - I know that this book is loved by many people. Apparently, the dose of enchantment was not right for me or maybe the ingredients did not work as well as I wished. Maybe I should not have read von Arnim's novel in spring? Maybe depressing autumn days or bleak and bland winter scenery would make me appreciate The Enchanted April more?


Józef Mehoffer

Enchanting Transformation

The enchantment of the title is apt, as there is an almost magical feel about the power of a beautiful landscape.

This is a carefully observed story of characters and transformation – including, perhaps, the reader. It constantly juxtaposes light with underlying sadness and hope. It’s about finding the courage to shake off undeserved guilt, rattle convention, and be true to yourself – and thus to others in your life. “Now she had taken off all her goodness and left it behind her like a heap in rain-sodden clothes, and she only felt joy. She was naked of goodness, and was rejoicing in being naked.”

Everyone has some unspoken gap or sadness in their lives, despite outward ordinariness or even success. But inertia, fear, societal pressure keep them in their place. This is the story of what happens when each character takes a small, uncharacteristic step away from the quotidian, leading to more significant steps. Everyone is changed, some more quickly and dramatically than others.

It sounds sentimental, and at times feels a little so (especially near the end), and yet it is delightful and waspishly Wildean. It's also a little unbelievable - but if the enchantment works for you, you'll forgive that.

Plot

This section is not a spoiler, and says little more than the blurb on the book itself. The real plot is the character development.

Mrs Wilkins is “running her listless eye down the Agony Column” when she spots an advert to rent an Italian castle for a month. It’s way beyond her means, but the mention of its wisteria is a draw, especially when she “stared out at the dripping street”. Wisteria has many mentions in the book, along with other flowers, but really, it’s the people who are flowering: in a new environment, they are liberated in ways that did not seem possible back in England in 1922.

Mrs Wilkins asks Mrs Arbuthnot, who she knows by sight from church, to come with her. They then advertise for two other women to join them and share the cost.

As soon as they arrive in Italy, despite a bad journey, “the whole inflamed sore dreariness, had faded to the dimness of a dream”. The weather was not initially welcoming, “But it was Italy. Nothing it did could be bad. The very rain was different— straight rain, falling properly on to one's umbrella; not that violently blowing English stuff that got in everywhere”.

The four women differ in age, outlook, social position, relationship status and more. Inevitably, men are added to the picture.

Humour comes from attempts to nab the best room, the etiquette of who is hostess (the one who initiated it, the most senior by age or rank; it certainly confuses the Italian staff), a dodgy boiler, and later, somewhat farcical aspects of mistaken assumptions and who is partnered with who.

It was only when I was half way through, I realised how apposite the timing was. It’s about four strangers who rent an Italian castle in April. I read it in August, finishing the day before I headed to France and Italy, for a trip that included staying in a villa with a group that included friends and strangers. I wasn’t as transformed as the characters here, but I think I unfurled a little.

Cast

This is the heart of the book.

Lotty Wilkins

She is a quiet, introverted woman in her mid 30s who seems older and more humble than she is. She thinks of herself as poor and still has a clothing allowance from her father – yet she’s married to a solicitor, lives in Hampstead and has a club.

“She was the kind of person who is not noticed at parties. Her clothes, infested by thrift, made her practically invisible.”

But she is also impulsive: she takes the initiative with the castle and she has a tendency to say what she thinks – not in a rude way, but it can seem a little improper or presumptive to others, particularly when saying what and why she thinks they are feeling.

She justifies the extravagance of the holiday in the expectation that she will return a nicer person. Her first night alone in five years feels strange, but there is joy and power in “her room bought with her own savings, the fruit of her careful denials, whose door she could bolt if she wanted to, and nobody had the right to come in”.

She is almost instantly transformed by the heavenly setting, relaxing and gaining confidence. In Rose’s eyes, Lotty was “impetuously becoming a saint. Could one really attain goodness so violently?” In the spirit of bliss, she invites her husband to join her – without consulting the others. He notices there is “not a shred of fear of him left in her” and there is a virtuous circle of her happiness and his warm response.

Mellersh Wilkins

Lotty’s husband is thrifty with everything, except for food – even words, thus “producing the impression of keeping copies of everything he said”. He’s an ambitious networker, and unlike his wife, he “gave a party, merely by coming to it, a great air.”

At home, he’s colder. Wanting to escape “the persistent vileness of the weather”, he proposes a holiday, and “as it would cause comment if he did not take his wife, take her he must—besides, she would be useful… for holding things, for waiting with the luggage”! (That holiday didn’t happen.)

At the castle, as more people arrive and there are shades of bedroom farce, he relishes – and cultivates - the possibility of legal advice arising from the apparently complex web of relationships. He is grudgingly grateful to Lotty for this opportunity - not that he says so to her. Lady Caroline warms to him, because he’s not predatory like other men; in fact he’s just as predatory, but not in a sexual sense.

Rose Arbuthnot

Her life is governed by “God, Husband, Home, Duty”. “The very way Mrs Arbuthnot parted her hair suggested a great calm that could only proceed from wisdom.” She’s a pillar of the church, leading good works and giving to the poor, in part to appease her guilt at her husband’s new – and profitable – career of writing salacious fictitious memoirs of kings’ mistresses and their ilk: “Her very nest egg was the fruit, posthumously ripened, of ancient sin”. She feels guilty about the extravagance of her holiday, despite her husband’s generosity.

She’s 33 and has been married for 13 years, and mourns “This separate life, this freezing loneliness”. Their only baby died. When she goes to Italy, she doesn’t tell her husband beforehand, but merely leaves him a note that doesn’t even say where she’s gone. She avoids talking about him and is happy for Mrs Fisher to assume her a widow.

Rose’s transformation is slower and more painful than Lotty’s. Previously, “Her scheduled life in the parish had prevented memories and desires from intruding on her.” She now has time to think, but finds it hard to pray. “San Salvatore had taken her carefully built-up semblance of happiness away from her, and given her nothing in exchange.” She’s more aware of her love for her husband and the loss of their baby. “How passionately she longed to be important to somebody again… privately important, just to one other person.”

Nevertheless, seeing Lotty’s happiness, she eventually invites Frederick, despite her perpetual fear she’ll bore him. He arrives oddly quickly.

Frederick Arbuthnot

Rose’s writer husband is rarely at home, but “he never went out of the house without her blessing going with him too, hovering, like a little echo of finished love.” He’s hurt by her disapproval of his writing, her reluctance to spend his money, and the way she has drifted away from him. He’s 40 and moves in social circles as the author of titillating potboilers. His life bristles with complications, but he’s quick-witted and laid back.

Lady Caroline Dester, aka Scrap

She’s a beautiful, rich, “extravagantly slender”, young flapper, tired of the social whirl. She sees herself as “a spoilt, a sour, a suspicious, and a selfish spinster”, though no one else does.

She is “wholly taken up by one great longing, a longing to get away from everybody she had ever known”, including those she’s sharing the castle with. Her success is limited in part by an odd inability to seem nasty or cross. For example, “what felt to her an indignant stare appeared to Mrs. Fisher as really charming docility”.

She has “the deep and melancholy fatigue, of the too much” which turns out to mean being constantly “grabbed” by men, “it was just as if she didn't belong to herself, wasn't her own at all, but was regarded as a universal thing, a sort of beauty-of-all-work”. The only man she loved and would have married had died in the war. “She was afraid of nothing in life except love” and “Nothing bored her so much as people who insisted on being original”.

Mrs Fisher

A rather stuffy, proper widow of 65. Some of her lines are reminiscent of Lady Bracknell. She’s living on memories not of her husband, but the great literary figures she knew as a child, always name-dropping, even in her own thoughts: Ruskin, Tennyson, Browning, Carlyle, Matthew Arnold, as well as the President of the Royal Academy, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Governor of the Bank of England. She’s well off, but rather parsimonious. Her house was inherited and “Death had furnished it for her”. Her husband had “behaved very much like maccaroni. He had slipped, he had wriggled, he had made her feel undignified”, though we’re spared details.

Eventually, inevitably, Mrs Fisher has “a ridiculous feeling as if she were presently going to burgeon. Sternly she tried to frown the unseemly sensation down. Burgeon, indeed. She had heard of dried staffs, pieces of mere dead wood, suddenly putting forth fresh leaves, but only in legend. She was not in legend… Dignity demanded that she should have nothing to do with fresh leaves at her age; and yet there it was—the feeling that presently, that at any moment now, she might crop out all green.”

Thomas Briggs

He’s the owner, in his early 30s. He’s keen to settle down and have a family. He’s the human manifestation of the transformative power of the castle itself.

Lotty and Rose met him in London prior to renting the house. He assumed them to be widows and took a fancy to Rose, so he decides to visit. “The more Mr Briggs thought Rose charming the more charming she became.” He, an orphan, affects childless Mrs Fisher, too, “blossoming out into real amiability the moment some one came along who was charming to her”. Then he sees Lady Caroline… And of course she assumes he’s just another grabber.

Ferdinand Arundel

A writer who fancies Lady Caroline, and tracks her down in the castle, via her mother.

He’s actually Frederick Arbuthnot in Hampstead and Ferdinand Arundel in town, rather like Jack/Earnest in The Importance of Being Earnest (see my review HERE).

Quotes

•tA “prolonged quarrel… conducted with dignified silence on one side and earnest apology on the other.”

•t“To be missed, to be needed… was… better than the complete loneliness of not being missed or needed at all.”

•t“Incredible as it may seem, seeing how they get into everything, Mrs. Wilkins had never come across any members of the aristocracy.”

•t“All the radiance of April in Italy lay gathered together at her feet. The sun poured in on her. The sea lay asleep in it, hardly stirring. Across the bay the lovely mountains, exquisitely different in colour, were asleep too in the light; and underneath her window, at the bottom of the flower-starred grass slope from which the wall of the castle rose up, was a great cypress, cutting through the delicate blues and violets and rose-colours of the mountains and the sea like a great black sword.”

•t“Up to now she had had to take what beauty she could as she went along, snatching at little bits of it when she came across it… She had never been in definitely, completely beautiful places.”

•t“This was the simple happiness of complete harmony with her surroundings, the happiness that asks for nothing, that just accepts, just breathes, just is.”

•t“She was having a violent reaction against beautiful clothes and the slavery they impose on one… gave one no peace till they had been everywhere and been seen by everybody. You didn't take your clothes to parties; they took you.”

•t“Colour seemed flung down anyhow, anywhere; every sort of colour, piled up in heaps, pouring along in rivers… They stood looking at this crowd of loveliness, this happy jumble, in silence.”

•t“How and where husbands slept should be known only to their wives. Sometimes it was not known to them, and then the marriage had less happy moments; but these moments were not talked about either.” Shades of Lady Bracknell.

•tHer face “became elaborately uninterested”.

•t“There were many things she disliked more than anything else.”

•t“It is true she liked him most when he wasn't there, but then she usually liked everybody most when they weren't there.”

•t“Inheritance was more respectable than acquisition. It did indicate fathers; and in an age where most people appeared neither to have them nor to want them she liked this too.”

•t“He certainly looked exactly like a husband, not at all like one of those people who go about abroad pretending they are husbands.”

•t“The marvelous night stole in through all one's chinks, and brought in with it… enormous feelings—feelings one couldn't manage.”

More Adult Story

For a sexed up version of something slightly similar, see DH Lawrence's short story, Sun, which I reviewed HERE.

The Film

The 1991 film is very good, really capturing the atmosphere of the book, though I'm glad I read the book first: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101811/?...

The excellent cast includes Miranda Richardson (Rose), Josie Lawrence (Lotty), Joan Plowright (Mrs Fisher), Jim Broadbent (Frederick Arbuthnot), Alfred Molina (Mellersh Wilkins), and Michael Kitchen (Mr Briggs).


WARNING ABOUT THIS EDITION OF THE BOOK (Watchmaker Publishing)

I don’t know if this was transcribed from audio, or badly scanned, or even if it’s been this way for nearly a century, but my copy has a lot of odd typos. (American spelling was also a surprise.)

•t“I wonder got which is best."

•t“they each hand over a reasonable sun every week”

•t“When Lady Caroline wants is one dose”

•t“a hurried scribble, showing how much bored he was at doing it”

•t“"You se," Mrs. Wilkins said”

•t“they each out to have somebody happy inside them”

•t“if any one was shaken of it was she herself”

•t“He had not hear her.”

There are also some unpaired quotation marks, some serif and some not.

Image source: http://been-seen.com/archive/2032.jpg

Airbnb-ing in the 1920s!

Four women, who haven’t got a lot in common except for their desire to get away from everything that constitutes their daily lives, join forces and budgets and, acting on their hearts’ desires, rent an Italian villa, fully equipped with all the trimmings for a relaxing stay for the whole month of April of a distant spring.

The time is the 1920s. The place is London (where they meet and set forth on their adventure) and San Salvatore, a fictional medieval castle complete with dungeons, battlements and the necessary servants, on the shores of the Mediterranean. Their plan appears ordinary enough by today’s standards but it must have seemed groundbreaking when the book was published in 1922. Their stay is full of unexpected twists and turns but the beauty of their surroundings has a soothing effect on their disposition and eagerness (or lack thereof) to open up to what their respective realities and the people who populate them have to offer. Namely love, hope or mere companionship.
Elizabeth von Arnim is a capable story weaver and very apt in describing her characters’ yearnings and uncertainties, as well as their defenses and self-protecting assurances. The slackening of the latter and the consequential self-revelations are done elegantly and ever so discreetly.

Thus, our heroines’ escapade turns out to be immensely beneficial for their bodies and souls alike, as usually is the case when people have the chance to get away from routine, change scenery and see everything that complicates their lives under a new light. A timeless remedy, apparently. Its abrupt disappearance from our lives in the past (and present) months has left a big void that charming stories like this one are doing a pretty good job at filling up.

I was to have been in Italy right now. Flights, accommodation, gallery tickets, all were booked months ago. I had even chosen books to take along.

So much faith in April being exactly how I'd planned seems innocent now.
And holidays have become unimportant—they are frills I can easily live without. In fact I've discovered I can live without a lot of things I used to think were essential, visiting friends, for example, going for long walks, browsing in bookshops, eating out. Eating at home has changed too as we rely more and more on food deliveries, which never contain quite what was ordered. I've become very good at doing without certain ingredients and using others in their place.

Instead of the long walks I loved, I walk in the garden now, though it's quite a tiny space. Never before have I paid so much attention to every sprouting tendril on the climbing plants, every hint of a bud. The simplest things thrill me, such as spotting that the wisteria that was planted three years ago and which had never yet flowered looks like it finally will. I can identify more bird species than I knew existed in my part of the world, and I've begun to recognise their calls. Instead of feeling imprisoned during this quarantine time, it's as if my life has opened up. The garden makes me feel good, it even makes me feel exuberant.

One thing that hasn't changed in my life is reading—I probably own enough books to see me through many quarantine seasons. I didn't own The Enchanted April though, in spite of having wished to read it in the past. When a friend reviewed it last week, it struck me as just the book I needed right now so I got it as an ebook. The plot of this novel concerns a holiday in Italy in April, and the story features a garden full of beautiful plants including wisteria. I enjoyed the book a lot. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I downloaded another book by Elizabeth Von Armin immediately on finishing. The second book, Elizabeth and Her German Garden, is a kind of memoir of a garden she owned at one point in her life. After reading it, I understood why the garden in The Enchanted April played such a big role. And I appreciated the character called Lotty Wilkins even more than I did initially—there's a lot of Elizabeth Von Armin in Lotty. It's in her delight in flowers, in her unusual forthrightness, and in her wonderfully exuberant personality. I really enjoyed Lotty.

Sometimes you just want to read an over-the-top, lighthearted but endearingly sweet story where everything ends up just as it should. Where there are no mysteries as to the wrongs being righted; just a curiosity as to what witty remark one or another character will say and how their bungling, though magical, actions will lead them to the happily-ever-after ending you wish them all to have.

It reads as sweetly as Gene Stratton-Porters "Freckles" but with a rollicking wit that matches that of Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest." It's quite a memorable and enjoyable duo! And it really must be read with satire in mind, otherwise the story will seem odd and out of line. Just remember, wrongs are righted and relationships are wonderfully united again.

I definitely recommend listening to this one. Eleanor Bron did a simply splendid job and gave my husband and I numerous moments of chuckle-time at the character's absurdities and her wonderful narration of them.

Cleanliness: "d*mn" and "*ss" were used several times. A man has a crush on a married woman (he does not know she's married and his affections change before declaring anything). A married man, who has become estranged from his wife, is falling for a beautiful lady (this and their marriage are righted). Very light kissing between a husband and wife. A man writes books about the mistresses of royalty - his wife does not approve of these filthy books. A man has only a towel wrapped around him for one scene. A woman smokes cigarettes. Mentions some alcohol.

*Note: I listened to the audio version of this book so this Cleanliness Report may not be as thoroughly detailed as other reports are. Also, some inappropriate content may have been forgotten/missed and not included in the report.

**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide a Cleanliness Report, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!

So Follow or Friend me here on GoodReads! You’ll see my updates as I’m reading and know which books I’m liking and what I’m not finishing and why. You’ll also be able to utilize my library for looking up titles to see whether the book you’re thinking about reading next has any objectionable content or not. From swear words, to romance, to bad attitudes (in children’s books), I cover it all!

"Oh, but in a bitter wind to have nothing on and know there never will be anything on and you going to get colder and colder till at last you die of it—that's what it was like, living with somebody who didn't love one."
That’s why Lotty Wilkins decides, one day, to use her savings to take holidays in a medieval castle in Italy, near the sea, and share the rent of this wonderful place with three other English women whom she meets them by newspaper classifieds.

Of course, the castle, the view on the sea, the mountains around, the flowers of the gardens are amazing, beautiful, divine. But what makes that this place will change Lotty’s life, and the one of the other women, is that they are, at last, ready to be happy, ready to change their lives, each one at her time, it’s their will to change. One must decide to be happy, then the world around becomes beautiful:
“When Mrs. Wilkins woke next morning she lay in bed a few minutes before getting up and opening the shutters. What would she see out of her window? A shining world, or a world of rain? But it would be beautiful; whatever it was would be beautiful."

Few details bothered me, like, it’s the very beginning of April in Italy — fig fruits will be matured end of August or September — and the author writes:
“the fig-leaves were just big enough to smell of figs”
I went down in my garden, to breath the fig leaves of my fig tree: it smells nothing, at least not figs, that’s what I thought. I know I focus sometimes on tiny details…!

This said, the author has very well observed her characters’ lives. Each woman knows that something in their life goes wrong, but until they decided to go to Italy, none of them wanted to think about it: they had closed their eyes on their lives:
“For years she had taken care to have no time to think.”
But so far, see this fact is just the first step:
“San Salvatore (the castle) had taken her carefully built-up semblance of happiness away from her and given her nothing in exchange.”

The stories of these women, are stories of inner quest. But when you’ve already done it —getting rid of all what was wrong in your childhood and education; realize who you really are and what you really want — even if you still don’t have what you want yet, it’s no use reading again and again about this subject, unless…

Unless you let yourself carried by the story, the flowers fragrances, the deep blue of the Italian sea and sky, the sharp British humour, love, and some well thought quotes:
“How warm, though, things like admiration and appreciation made one feel, how capable of really deserving them, how different, how glowing. They seemed to quicken unsuspected faculties into life.”
Once again, it’s something I do for a long time now, starting with my children: I’ve always told them they’re beautiful and intelligent, so that they feel beautiful and intelligent. (Of course, I think what I say, which is easier: my children are the best! Forgive me, I’m a mother!)
Unless you wish you were in Italy, having time to do what seems nothing, but what is what we should have time to do:
“The women sat on the low wall at the end of the top garden after dinner, and watched the enormous moon moving slowly over the place where Shelley had lived his last months just on a hundred years before.”

April in Italy would be enjoyable, delightful or"enchanting" for anyone. But is this book enchanting if enchanting means these adjectives? Not in my opinion. However, enchantment can also mean magical or causing a spell. Spells and magic seem the appropriate definitions for this Von Arnim book. Like a fairytale, all the characters in The Enchanted April are transformed. Poof! No more sadness. Poof! No more selfishness. Poof! All haughty behavior - gone! And, like a fairytale, all the characters live happily ever after. (We are not told this, but how could it be any different?)

I thoroughly enjoyed Von Arnim's, Elizabeth and Her German Garden. While she is a good writer and her tongue in cheek style is amusing, I was disappointed in the book. I could picture myself in those sunny castle gardens as long as I didn't have to hear the drivel of the characters. Although it certainly won't be remembered as a favorite, I'm glad I read it. Those Italian gardens in the April sunshine - Poof! I was transported.