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The Enchanted April

Annotated Edition
Series: Evergreens
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( 39,430 ratings, 6,152 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim follows four women who, seeking a break from their dreary lives in 1920s London, rent a villa in Italy for a month. As they bask in the idyllic surroundings, they undergo transformative personal journeys, discovering joy, friendship, and unexpected changes in their perspectives on life and relationships. Filled with humour and charm, the story beautifully captures the rejuvenating power of nature and new companionships.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you appreciate tales of personal transformation and the magic of a change in environment. Set in an idyllic Italian villa, it follows four women from different backgrounds who find friendship and self-discovery in a shared escape from the drudgery of their daily lives. If you enjoy character-driven narratives with a touch of humour and romance, this charming story might just captivate you.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Here presented in a new edition to include pictures and an extensive section on von Arnim's life and works, The Enchanted April has inspired generations of readers since and established Portofino and the Italian Riviera as a mainstay of the tourist circuit

'Italian holidays get more than their fair share of literary attention, but this uplifting novel is unmissable – reading it is almost as good as taking a holiday oneself.' - The Observer

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Four women, with very different backgrounds and characters – the artless Lottie Wilkins, the pious Rose Arbuthnot, the cantankerous Mrs Fisher, and the haughty Lady Caroline Dester – respond to an advertisement in The Times offering a medieval castle to rent in Italy that April. As their joint holiday begins, tensions flare up between them, but they soon bond over their past misfortunes and rediscover hope and the pleasures of life in their tranquil surroundings.

A huge best-seller when it was published in 1922, The Enchanted April has inspired generations of readers since and established Portofino and the Italian Riviera as a mainstay of the tourist circuit.

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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Many reviews hail The Enchanted April as an enchantingly charming novel that captivates with its spellbinding narrative and delightful characterisation. It's frequently praised for its idyllic setting and the transformative journey of its characters, offering a delightful escape for readers.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781847497215

Publisher: Alma Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 26 April 2018

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Alma Classics

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 18.0mm

Width: 128.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 227g

Pages: 256

About the Author

Elizabeth von Arnim (1866–1941) was an Australian-born British novelist who was married to a Prussian aristocrat. Her most famous works include Elizabeth and Her German Garden and The Enchanted April.

Also by Elizabeth von Arnim

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    VINTAGE DECO - Nine blazing, daring novels to celebrate the 1920s - 100 years on. Now she had taken off her goodness and left it behind her like a heap of rain-sodden clothes, and she only felt joy. Mrs Wilkins and Mrs Arbuthnot, cowed and neglected by their husbands, make a daring plan—they will have a holiday. Leaving a drab...
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  • The Enchanted April
    Introducing Little Clothbound Classics — irresistible, mini editions of short stories, novellas, and essays from the world's greatest writers, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith. The Enchanted April, Elizabeth von Arnim's brilliant, irrepressible novella, tells the tale of four very different women who, upon answering an advertisement in The Times, find themselves far away from the drizzle of London and...
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  • Elizabeth and her German Garden
    Twenty new titles in the much-loved and hugely successful Penguin English Library series "Oh, my dear, relations are like drugs, - useful sometimes, and even pleasant, if taken in small quantities and seldom, but dreadfully pernicious on the whole, and the truly wise avoid them" Taking respite from the Man of Wrath, her children, and her stifling household, Elizabeth discovers...
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  • The Enchanted April
    Funny, irreverent and full of joy, this is the perfect book to accompany you on holiday — a celebration of escaping the everyday. With an introduction by Brenda Bowen Mrs Wilkins and Mrs Arbuthnot, cowed and neglected by their husbands, make a daring plan: they will have a holiday. Leaving a drab and rainy London one April and arriving on...
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  • The Enchanted April
    A funny and charming novel about four women in Italy, introduced by Salley Vickers. A notice in The Times addressed to 'Those who Appreciate Wistaria and Sunshine' advertises a 'small mediaeval Italian Castle on the shores of the Mediterranean to be let furnished for the month of April'. Four very different women take up the offer, escaping dreary London for...
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  • Father
    'There came a moment, she imagined, in the lives of most unmarried daughters, and perhaps in other people's too, when they must either bolt or go permanently under.' Since her mother's death, Jennifer has devoted years of her life to her father, managing the family home and acting as his secretary. After the sudden announcement that he has taken a...
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  • The Enchanted April
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  • Introduction to Sally
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