The Enchanted April - Songbird Classics Illustrated Edition: The Timeless Classic Novel of Romance and Women's Friendship, with a New Introduction by J. K. Melia
About this ebook
Extensively illustrated - 45 unique impressionist art illustrations, including 23 page plates
Extensively annotated - 37 informative annotations to the text
Prefaced with a new, authoritative introduction outlining the cultural and historical context of Elizabeth Von Arnim's writing
Four disillusioned women seek respite together; polite strangers, sharing an idyllic retreat in Italy. Each carries a burden that must be lifted; each must find a way...
At San Salvatore, ghosts are exorcised and bounds broken: each woman finds her own way back to happiness, on her own terms – aided by the simple magic of an Italian Spring garden.
Any story of a struggle to break free is compelling to the human heart. One way or another, we must each break free of our own prison. This then is the story of Rose, Lotty, Scrap Dester & Mrs Fisher – and their quiet story is epic, like the poems of antiquity.
Elizabeth von Arnim's modern classic of women's fiction was a worldwide bestseller upon its publication in 1922. Her story struck an emotional chord with women everywhere, inspiring numerous theatre and radio adaptations, plus an Oscar nominated movie in 1991. Her supreme talent for both dreamy exposition and sharp, witty dialogue made her whole body of work hugely popular in Europe and the United States of America.
A 20th century classic of literary fiction, women's friendship and romantic fiction. If you are a fan of Downton Abbey, Jane Austen, or any classic women's fiction, then this gentle classic is a must read novel for you!
Regards,
J. K. Melia
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About the author
Elizabeth von Arnim (born Mary Beauchamp) was a highly popular novelist in the first half of the 20th century; producing more than twenty successful novels, leading to radio, theatre and cinema adaptations. Her own background and upbringing is a partial amalgam of that of the ladies of San Salvatore in the Novel 'Enchanted April'. Born to a very wealthy shipping merchant, she was raised in the upper heights of the entrepreneurial middle class. Through marriage, she became a countess – twice; first in German Junker society, then in the English social elite. Her childhood and entry to womanhood were through the lens of elite society, both socially and intellectually; providing a wealth of material for any aspiring writer.
The basis of her popularity was an unerring talent to mine her own rich life experience and her intelligentsia social circle for compelling, relatable characters. Allied to her knack for soulful exposition and sharply witty dialogue, this was an irresistible appeal to readers. Her best selling catalogue, rather less known today, is still both a valuable insight into a lost world and an affirmation of the warmth of the human soul.
