Call number
BIO VON ARNIM
Collection
Genres
Publication
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (2013), 88 pages
Description
This semi-autobiographical book is about the life of a young English woman who marries an ageing German aristocrat and in the marriage she focuses on her garden and children, at the same time running a country house. She also writes down her observations of the stuffy German aristocratic set using her razor sharp wit. Von Arnim was a successful author in her time and deserves to be re-discovered, this novel is a gem. In the first year of publication this book was re-printed twenty times. Von Arnim wrote another 20 books that were all published.
Subjects
User reviews
LibraryThing member lauralkeet
"I see a time coming when the passion for my garden will have taken such a hold on me that I shall not only entirely cease buying more clothes, but begin to sell those that I already have." (p. 154)
This is a delightful autobiographical novel set at a German country house. Elizabeth, the mother of
As was common for women of that time, Elizabeth von Arnim published this book anonymously. Subsequent books were published "by the author of Elizabeth and her German Garden," and also "by Elizabeth." This book is a perfect example of why Virago Press publishes the Virago Modern Classics: to bring to life the excellent work of women who were overlooked during their day.
This is a delightful autobiographical novel set at a German country house. Elizabeth, the mother of
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three young girls, convinced her German husband to live in this house instead of in the city, and set about developing the garden. Her joy and humor illuminate every page. Her husband, who early on chastises her for not writing to him while he is away, is called simply "the Man of Wrath," and her children are called "April baby," "May baby," and "June baby" according to the month they were born (three years in a row, I might add!) While Elizabeth's joy in gardening is evident, so is her frustration at being a woman at the beginning of the 20th century. She pokes fun at her husband's superior attitude, but there is also a lengthy scene in which he discusses women's place and at this point, her anger is evident. The novel takes place over a year's time, in which she discusses both gardening and family life. At Christmastime, Elizabeth has two visitors: one, a dear friend and the other, a student she was asked to take in over the holidays. The interactions among the three women, and the ways in which houseguests can grow tiresome, are all brilliantly portrayed.As was common for women of that time, Elizabeth von Arnim published this book anonymously. Subsequent books were published "by the author of Elizabeth and her German Garden," and also "by Elizabeth." This book is a perfect example of why Virago Press publishes the Virago Modern Classics: to bring to life the excellent work of women who were overlooked during their day.
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LibraryThing member LyzzyBee
Bought 1988?
The Virago Group in LibraryThing were having an All Virago, All August challenge and, while I knew I couldn't fit many in, with a heavy proof-reading schedule and a large TBR, I thought I could manage one or two. There was some talk about this one, and I knew I'd liked it when I first
I must have bought this soon after its 1988 publication, as it dates from my short - but passionate - phase of covering paperbacks with that sticky-backed, clear film (the one that comes with a square-printed backing sheet). No date of acquisition written in, but I stopped doing this when I went to University in 1989.
So, to the book. It was different from how I remembered. Not worse, just different. Elizabeth very clearly and emphatically does NOT do the gardening herself; she's not a man, so she can't wield a spade (honestly, it says that). And the print is quite large and the margins quite large too, so it doesn't last very long in the reading. And some of the sentiments - particularly about how the working class woman is calmed with a good beating, while the middle-to-upper-class woman just gets in a state - while I assume tongue in cheek, were a bit shocking (especially in a Virago book!) But the descriptions of friendship and - of course - gardening are just as lovely as they were the first time I read this, and I have a bit more experience gardening myself, now, which helps.
The Virago Group in LibraryThing were having an All Virago, All August challenge and, while I knew I couldn't fit many in, with a heavy proof-reading schedule and a large TBR, I thought I could manage one or two. There was some talk about this one, and I knew I'd liked it when I first
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read it, so I picked it up to read.I must have bought this soon after its 1988 publication, as it dates from my short - but passionate - phase of covering paperbacks with that sticky-backed, clear film (the one that comes with a square-printed backing sheet). No date of acquisition written in, but I stopped doing this when I went to University in 1989.
So, to the book. It was different from how I remembered. Not worse, just different. Elizabeth very clearly and emphatically does NOT do the gardening herself; she's not a man, so she can't wield a spade (honestly, it says that). And the print is quite large and the margins quite large too, so it doesn't last very long in the reading. And some of the sentiments - particularly about how the working class woman is calmed with a good beating, while the middle-to-upper-class woman just gets in a state - while I assume tongue in cheek, were a bit shocking (especially in a Virago book!) But the descriptions of friendship and - of course - gardening are just as lovely as they were the first time I read this, and I have a bit more experience gardening myself, now, which helps.
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LibraryThing member alexdaw
You know how particular books give you phrases for life? For example, Winnie the Pooh - "elevenses", "horrible heffalumps" or Animal Farm - "All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others" and so on. Well, this book has given me "The Man of Wrath". I shall be using this
This was my second gift from my Virago Secret Santa - the lovely Juliette07. What a wise choice. I was a bit nervous about reading this book as I am the world's worst gardener. I have a black thumb - possibly two. Cactus struggle to survive in my garden. Weeds flourish. The sad thing is that I really do love a beautiful garden. I am just bone lazy and would prefer to knit or read. So, I thought, reading about gardening could be a challenge.
I was intrigued from the outset that the author, Elizabeth von Arnim, was Australian by birth and born in the very same city of my birth - Sydney - in 1866. She was, however, brought up in England and moved to Pomerania in 1894 with her first husband, Count von Arnim aka the Man of Wrath. This book is the account of her forays into gardening - delighting in experimenting with planting and designing a large estate.
This is a slim volume - just over 200 pages - and this particular edition has reasonable size print. All of which is very encouraging for those readers whose eyes are just beginning to require glasses at every turn and who lead hectic lives and read in short bursts on buses or in snatches, before the Man of Wrath discovers them somewhere and delivers yet another lecture with glass of wine in one hand.
The book is framed within a year - commencing in May and concluding in April. There are detailed accounts to be sure of the sowing et al and at times I felt the book would benefit either from illustrations or my having a Yates Garden guide beside me, being vastly ignorant of many of the species under discussion. I persevered however and really, in the end, Elizabeth is probably a much more acute observer of the human species, particularly in the second half of the book.
This is an account for sure of a woman who leads a privileged life. There are numerous servants and seedlings are ordered in the hundreds. But Elizabeth's observations are always told with tongue firmly in cheek or with a sense that, to many. her life and interests may seem rather odd and unconventional. There are many passages where, despite this being written over 100 years ago, one smiles in recognition, that some things never change. Just substitute your favourite vice (e.g. Librarything) for flower catalogues in the following quote and you will understand what I mean....
"I am very busy preparing for Christmas, but have often locked myself up in a room alone, shutting out my unfinished duties, to study the flower catalogues and make my list of seeds and shrubs and trees for the spring. It is a fascinating occupation, and acquires an additional charm when you know you ought to be doing something else, that Christmas is at the door, that children and servants and farm hands depend on you for their pleasure, and that, if you don't see to the decoration of the trees and house and the buying of the presents, nobody else will. The hours fly by shut up with those catalogues and with Duty snarling on the other side of the door." p. 94
Elizabeth is a woman who craves and enjoys solitude. At times I felt sorry for a visitor thrust upon her goodwill - the aspirant writer, Minora - whose efforts Elizabeth and her friend Irais, delight in mocking at every turn. But in the end I am forced to admire Elizabeth's own acute observation of her self....a woman not entirely without faults - but ones we all share.....
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frequently from now on!This was my second gift from my Virago Secret Santa - the lovely Juliette07. What a wise choice. I was a bit nervous about reading this book as I am the world's worst gardener. I have a black thumb - possibly two. Cactus struggle to survive in my garden. Weeds flourish. The sad thing is that I really do love a beautiful garden. I am just bone lazy and would prefer to knit or read. So, I thought, reading about gardening could be a challenge.
I was intrigued from the outset that the author, Elizabeth von Arnim, was Australian by birth and born in the very same city of my birth - Sydney - in 1866. She was, however, brought up in England and moved to Pomerania in 1894 with her first husband, Count von Arnim aka the Man of Wrath. This book is the account of her forays into gardening - delighting in experimenting with planting and designing a large estate.
This is a slim volume - just over 200 pages - and this particular edition has reasonable size print. All of which is very encouraging for those readers whose eyes are just beginning to require glasses at every turn and who lead hectic lives and read in short bursts on buses or in snatches, before the Man of Wrath discovers them somewhere and delivers yet another lecture with glass of wine in one hand.
The book is framed within a year - commencing in May and concluding in April. There are detailed accounts to be sure of the sowing et al and at times I felt the book would benefit either from illustrations or my having a Yates Garden guide beside me, being vastly ignorant of many of the species under discussion. I persevered however and really, in the end, Elizabeth is probably a much more acute observer of the human species, particularly in the second half of the book.
This is an account for sure of a woman who leads a privileged life. There are numerous servants and seedlings are ordered in the hundreds. But Elizabeth's observations are always told with tongue firmly in cheek or with a sense that, to many. her life and interests may seem rather odd and unconventional. There are many passages where, despite this being written over 100 years ago, one smiles in recognition, that some things never change. Just substitute your favourite vice (e.g. Librarything) for flower catalogues in the following quote and you will understand what I mean....
"I am very busy preparing for Christmas, but have often locked myself up in a room alone, shutting out my unfinished duties, to study the flower catalogues and make my list of seeds and shrubs and trees for the spring. It is a fascinating occupation, and acquires an additional charm when you know you ought to be doing something else, that Christmas is at the door, that children and servants and farm hands depend on you for their pleasure, and that, if you don't see to the decoration of the trees and house and the buying of the presents, nobody else will. The hours fly by shut up with those catalogues and with Duty snarling on the other side of the door." p. 94
Elizabeth is a woman who craves and enjoys solitude. At times I felt sorry for a visitor thrust upon her goodwill - the aspirant writer, Minora - whose efforts Elizabeth and her friend Irais, delight in mocking at every turn. But in the end I am forced to admire Elizabeth's own acute observation of her self....a woman not entirely without faults - but ones we all share.....
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LibraryThing member Talbin
Elizabeth von Armin's autobiographical novel, Elizabeth and her German Garden is a light and breezy account of one year at a rural German estate. Elizabeth has convinced her husband, known only as The Man of Wrath, to move to a remote former nunnery with a neglected garden. Elizabeth feels most at
Other than the Christmas activities, the book is mainly a recording of Elizabeth's mostly tongue-in-cheek observations about marriage, other women, rural and city life and servants. Von Armin seems to only be serious when she is writing about her beloved garden. As a gardener myself, and as someone who knows a bit about garden history, I know that what Elizabeth envisions and designs for her German garden - a naturalistic riot of plants and colors in borders - is ahead of its time (and even a bit ahead of Gertrude Jekyll). There are a few points in the book where Elizabeth notes the division between her vision for the garden and her acquaintance's expectations for formal bedding plots. I won't go into too many of the details for the non-gardener's sake, but this echoes Elizabeth's differing point of view about the role of women in this rural German society as well.
One of the main things that bothered me was von Armin's view of servants. Because so much of the books was seemingly satiric, it was difficult to know if she was making a subtle point or if she really felt that way. I think this also highlights one way in which this is a very old-fashioned text. Von Armin seems to be using a tactic common to proto-feminist writers of the late 19th century - show the female characters as rather satiric, agreeing with the common views of the day but undercutting them at the same time. As a reader in the early 21st century, while I understand why women wrote in this way at that time, I also find the style to be extremely dated and sometimes hard to "read around." It's interesting how quickly so many early feminist texts (if one can call this that) become historical documents rather than living texts. I'm not sure Elizabeth and her German Garden completely crosses over into the historical, mainly because she so obviously and non-ironically loves her garden and the natural world. These passages, for me, were the most refreshing and alive portions of the book.
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piece in the garden, and will spend entire days (summer or winter) reading, eating and daydreaming outside. This little novel has a very slight story - after what I would consider a long introduction, a friend, Irais, comes to visit for Christmas. At the same time, the English daughter of a friend of a friend - Minora - also comes to stay for the holidays. Minora is rather unwelcome, and becomes even more so as her personality emerges. About half the book is about the 2 month period in which Elizabeth and Irais (along with a cameo by The Man of Wrath) rather make fun of Minora and her pretensions.Other than the Christmas activities, the book is mainly a recording of Elizabeth's mostly tongue-in-cheek observations about marriage, other women, rural and city life and servants. Von Armin seems to only be serious when she is writing about her beloved garden. As a gardener myself, and as someone who knows a bit about garden history, I know that what Elizabeth envisions and designs for her German garden - a naturalistic riot of plants and colors in borders - is ahead of its time (and even a bit ahead of Gertrude Jekyll). There are a few points in the book where Elizabeth notes the division between her vision for the garden and her acquaintance's expectations for formal bedding plots. I won't go into too many of the details for the non-gardener's sake, but this echoes Elizabeth's differing point of view about the role of women in this rural German society as well.
One of the main things that bothered me was von Armin's view of servants. Because so much of the books was seemingly satiric, it was difficult to know if she was making a subtle point or if she really felt that way. I think this also highlights one way in which this is a very old-fashioned text. Von Armin seems to be using a tactic common to proto-feminist writers of the late 19th century - show the female characters as rather satiric, agreeing with the common views of the day but undercutting them at the same time. As a reader in the early 21st century, while I understand why women wrote in this way at that time, I also find the style to be extremely dated and sometimes hard to "read around." It's interesting how quickly so many early feminist texts (if one can call this that) become historical documents rather than living texts. I'm not sure Elizabeth and her German Garden completely crosses over into the historical, mainly because she so obviously and non-ironically loves her garden and the natural world. These passages, for me, were the most refreshing and alive portions of the book.
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LibraryThing member kjuliff
The Man of Wrath
This is the third and earliest of von Arnim’s books in my collection, and it like the others was a joy to read.
Unlike Vera which is also semi-autobiographical, this book tells of the happier marriage to a wealthy German who Elizabeth facetiously refers to as “The Man of
Elizabeth and Henning have three children who are four, five and six in the book. Elizabeth calls them “babies” and refers to them by the names of the months they were born in.
Thus we have April Baby, May Baby and June Baby, Elizabeth talks about the babies in the same way as she talks about her flowers, flowers that take on childlike qualities. Bluebells peep cheekily through the snow. Petunias raise their quaint little heads in the morning.
A gardener plants the flowers. A governess looks after April Baby, May Baby and June Baby.
Elizabeth lives a life of privilege. She can do as she pleases, weather permitting. She’s a charming and witty young woman, who doesn’t tolerate fools gladly. And except for one close friend fools include her husband and most of the people she knows or whose paths cross hers.
The peasant are ignorant, less than animals and oh so annoying when they return to Russia in winter to see their families
Similar to Jane Austen’s Emma Elizabeth goes through life without a real care in the world. Unlike Emma though, Elizabeth is never sorry. Elizabeth has to be taken as one finds her. Any delving into the background of the social class structure of the time will be horrified to read of her referring to laborers as “menials”. I suggest the social squeamish stay away. An LT member reviewing the book exclaimed, “What a crock of über-privileged shit!”
As for me I found I could suspend my politics and I loved both - Elizabeth and her German Garden.
This is the third and earliest of von Arnim’s books in my collection, and it like the others was a joy to read.
Unlike Vera which is also semi-autobiographical, this book tells of the happier marriage to a wealthy German who Elizabeth facetiously refers to as “The Man of
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Wrath”. Count Henning August von Arnim-Schlagenthin is portrayed as an old-fashioned boring Teuton, best ignored. And Elizabeth does her best to ignore him. She has her own way, by politely acting as if she does not even hear what he had to say, and spends her life planning and enjoying her garden in an old Pomeranian Manson.Elizabeth and Henning have three children who are four, five and six in the book. Elizabeth calls them “babies” and refers to them by the names of the months they were born in.
Thus we have April Baby, May Baby and June Baby, Elizabeth talks about the babies in the same way as she talks about her flowers, flowers that take on childlike qualities. Bluebells peep cheekily through the snow. Petunias raise their quaint little heads in the morning.
A gardener plants the flowers. A governess looks after April Baby, May Baby and June Baby.
Elizabeth lives a life of privilege. She can do as she pleases, weather permitting. She’s a charming and witty young woman, who doesn’t tolerate fools gladly. And except for one close friend fools include her husband and most of the people she knows or whose paths cross hers.
The peasant are ignorant, less than animals and oh so annoying when they return to Russia in winter to see their families
Similar to Jane Austen’s Emma Elizabeth goes through life without a real care in the world. Unlike Emma though, Elizabeth is never sorry. Elizabeth has to be taken as one finds her. Any delving into the background of the social class structure of the time will be horrified to read of her referring to laborers as “menials”. I suggest the social squeamish stay away. An LT member reviewing the book exclaimed, “What a crock of über-privileged shit!”
As for me I found I could suspend my politics and I loved both - Elizabeth and her German Garden.
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LibraryThing member Michael.Rimmer
Short review: What a crock of über-privileged shit!
Slightly longer review: I went into this knowing that "Lives of the rich and privileged" is not the genre for me, and after struggling for 30 pages, had this preference resoundingly confirmed. Had there been an element of authorial knowingness
It's a pity, as behind the aristocratic elitism there seems to be a good story being told about an introverted, socially anxious, bookish woman who prefers the company of nature and children to bourgeois society and men. She's just stuck too far up her own arse for me to keep that in sight.
Slightly longer review: I went into this knowing that "Lives of the rich and privileged" is not the genre for me, and after struggling for 30 pages, had this preference resoundingly confirmed. Had there been an element of authorial knowingness
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about the main character's disdain for her servants, that would have been some kind of redeeming quality, but the reason given for Elizabeth's (both the character and, presumably, the author) dislike of "boxing the maids ears" is not because it is abusive and manifestly wrong in principle, but because she herself would feel "wretched" to have her tranquility disturbed by the necessity of chastising intransigent staff.It's a pity, as behind the aristocratic elitism there seems to be a good story being told about an introverted, socially anxious, bookish woman who prefers the company of nature and children to bourgeois society and men. She's just stuck too far up her own arse for me to keep that in sight.
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LibraryThing member JaneSteen
Where I got the book: purchased on Kindle.
"I do sincerely trust that the benediction that is always awaiting me in my garden may by degrees be more deserved, and that I may grow in grace, and patience, and cheerfulness, just like the happy flowers I so much love."
This little gem of a book, the
In describing her garden, Elizabeth gives the reader glimpses of her own past and present, and of her husband (dubbed "the Man of Wrath") and her "babies," her three young daughters. It occurred to me at some point that if Elizabeth Von Arnim had been alive today, this would not have been a novel but a blog, because that's exactly what it resembles. As a novel it really doesn't have a whole lot of structure, but its charm comes precisely from the juxtaposition of the freedom and beauty of the natural world with that of a wealthy aristocrat who cannot escape all of her duties.
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.
After the initial chapters which are more about the garden than anything else, there is a wonderful November chapter in which Elizabeth returns to her father's house, a train ride away, and deciding not to call upon the cousins who inherited the property (which was entailed, meaning that she lost her father and her home at the same time) wanders around the garden in the damp fog. The episode ends splendidly when she thinks she has encountered her own ghost.
Then follows a winter episode where Elizabeth has to entertain two guests, a close friend and a woman foisted upon her. Here we see the more acid, worldly side of Elizabeth, and learn more about the Man of Wrath who has evidently earned his nickname. Even though it could reasonably be claimed that Elizabeth acted very bitchily toward her unwanted guest, I did find myself sympathizing with her.
This edition did have a few errors, especially in the rendering of the German words with which Von Arnim liberally sprinkles her prose. Readers who do not know German might want to look for a footnoted edition with translations, or have an electronic translator handy.
"I do sincerely trust that the benediction that is always awaiting me in my garden may by degrees be more deserved, and that I may grow in grace, and patience, and cheerfulness, just like the happy flowers I so much love."
This little gem of a book, the
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first novel by Elizabeth Von Arnim I had read, both delighted and intrigued me. It is about a woman called Elizabeth who has moved, with her husband and children, to their country estate in a remote part of Germany. Elizabeth dislikes the indoors with its responsibilities, servants and other interruptions, and spends most of the time reading in her garden. She does not actually garden, being a lady; she says on several occasions that she wishes she could just get a spade and dig instead of having to give instructions. I got a very sharp impression of the restrictions on a lady's life in the late 1800s.In describing her garden, Elizabeth gives the reader glimpses of her own past and present, and of her husband (dubbed "the Man of Wrath") and her "babies," her three young daughters. It occurred to me at some point that if Elizabeth Von Arnim had been alive today, this would not have been a novel but a blog, because that's exactly what it resembles. As a novel it really doesn't have a whole lot of structure, but its charm comes precisely from the juxtaposition of the freedom and beauty of the natural world with that of a wealthy aristocrat who cannot escape all of her duties.
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.
After the initial chapters which are more about the garden than anything else, there is a wonderful November chapter in which Elizabeth returns to her father's house, a train ride away, and deciding not to call upon the cousins who inherited the property (which was entailed, meaning that she lost her father and her home at the same time) wanders around the garden in the damp fog. The episode ends splendidly when she thinks she has encountered her own ghost.
Then follows a winter episode where Elizabeth has to entertain two guests, a close friend and a woman foisted upon her. Here we see the more acid, worldly side of Elizabeth, and learn more about the Man of Wrath who has evidently earned his nickname. Even though it could reasonably be claimed that Elizabeth acted very bitchily toward her unwanted guest, I did find myself sympathizing with her.
This edition did have a few errors, especially in the rendering of the German words with which Von Arnim liberally sprinkles her prose. Readers who do not know German might want to look for a footnoted edition with translations, or have an electronic translator handy.
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LibraryThing member arkgirl1
Finished 'Elizabeth and her German garden' recently and found it delightful. It appears, from reading the introduction, to be autobiographical as it is the musings and thoughts of Elizabeth von Arnim about her garden over a year, with the odd bits of life interspersed! It is very witty and some of
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the descriptions are just lovely but there are also some insightful comments on the frustrations of being a woman at that place and time. The way Elizabeth stops herself from telling the society ladies about spending her time reading books made me laugh but it was also quite sad that it was not seen as the 'done thing'! Show Less
LibraryThing member nmhale
A semi-fictional memoir of a young noble woman, renovating one of her husband's country houses and luxuriating in the gardens surrounding the home. The story is said to be a novel, but it's clear that the diary entries reflect the true thoughts and emotions of the author, Countess Elizabeth von
Much of the memoir is about Elizabeth's attempts to revive and organize the massive gardens surrounding her home, although there are some passages of domestic life. As she expresses multiple times, Elizabeth feels most at home in nature, and stifled in her house, where the mundane tasks of overseeing house servants, choosing dinner, and running a household make her feel trapped. Generally I wouldn't be too excited about recollections about gardens, but the author brings life to her gardening voyages with witty remarks and self-deprecating humor. Because she cared how her roses would turn out, I cared. I enjoyed watching her garden evolve.
What impressed me most about this memoir, though, was Elizabeth herself. She is an independent and forward-thinking woman. She begrudges the fact that she can't work in the garden all by herself (she has to hire a gardener to do the work that she can only plan out), she deplores not being able to get her hands dirty, and she wants to just sit and read without feeling the censure of other women for being too intellectual. She was a modern woman living in not-modern times. So many things we take for granted these days were challenges, if not downright impossible, for women in her time. Yet she resists these limitations, to the fullest extent of her resources, and I loved her for it. With Elizabeth as narrator this was a charming and easy read.
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Arnim, if not recording the actual events that happened to her. My feel is that this was an actual memoir written by the precocious Elizabeth, with just tidbits fictionalized to remove any personal stings. Much of the memoir is about Elizabeth's attempts to revive and organize the massive gardens surrounding her home, although there are some passages of domestic life. As she expresses multiple times, Elizabeth feels most at home in nature, and stifled in her house, where the mundane tasks of overseeing house servants, choosing dinner, and running a household make her feel trapped. Generally I wouldn't be too excited about recollections about gardens, but the author brings life to her gardening voyages with witty remarks and self-deprecating humor. Because she cared how her roses would turn out, I cared. I enjoyed watching her garden evolve.
What impressed me most about this memoir, though, was Elizabeth herself. She is an independent and forward-thinking woman. She begrudges the fact that she can't work in the garden all by herself (she has to hire a gardener to do the work that she can only plan out), she deplores not being able to get her hands dirty, and she wants to just sit and read without feeling the censure of other women for being too intellectual. She was a modern woman living in not-modern times. So many things we take for granted these days were challenges, if not downright impossible, for women in her time. Yet she resists these limitations, to the fullest extent of her resources, and I loved her for it. With Elizabeth as narrator this was a charming and easy read.
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LibraryThing member bell7
From what I gather, this book, published in 1898, was a sort of fictionalized memoir or memoir-like novel. Told in diary form from May to April, Elizabeth writes of her garden in the country, her husband (the Man of Wrath), her children (the April, May, and June babies), making sometimes acute and
I was first introduced to Elizabeth von Arnim when I read The Enchanted April in 2009. I found the tale warm and the characters endearing, and determined to read more of her works. I've been following through on that determination ever-so-slowly, but Elizabeth and Her German Garden has rejuvenated that resolution. Every one of her books that I have read (Vera is the other) have been very different from each other, though in both The Enchanted April and Elizabeth and Her German Garden, I most enjoyed her wit and humor. Elizabeth clearly lives as a well-to-do woman, with gardeners to do most of the work for her, and much leisure time, but she also discusses the political state of women in her time. I read a bit slower than usual because I had a hard time with the language of the day - long sentences with multiple semicolons make for slow going. But then a sentence or phrase would stand out for how beautifully she captures a description or sentiment. Though The Enchanted April is still my favorite of her works to date, this book stands as a close second.
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witty observations of both people and circumstances.I was first introduced to Elizabeth von Arnim when I read The Enchanted April in 2009. I found the tale warm and the characters endearing, and determined to read more of her works. I've been following through on that determination ever-so-slowly, but Elizabeth and Her German Garden has rejuvenated that resolution. Every one of her books that I have read (Vera is the other) have been very different from each other, though in both The Enchanted April and Elizabeth and Her German Garden, I most enjoyed her wit and humor. Elizabeth clearly lives as a well-to-do woman, with gardeners to do most of the work for her, and much leisure time, but she also discusses the political state of women in her time. I read a bit slower than usual because I had a hard time with the language of the day - long sentences with multiple semicolons make for slow going. But then a sentence or phrase would stand out for how beautifully she captures a description or sentiment. Though The Enchanted April is still my favorite of her works to date, this book stands as a close second.
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LibraryThing member cbl_tn
This is a book for book lovers. Whether or not gardening is your thing, if you're even a little bit introverted, you'll identify with Elizabeth's longing for the peaceful solitude of her garden. It's a perfect spot for reading (although leaving your books there overnight is a no-no).
My favorite
This book belongs on every book lover's TBR list. It's fairly short and, thanks to Project Gutenberg, is freely available to anyone with Internet access. It's well worth the time and expense.
My favorite
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part of the book tells about Elizabeth's uninvited holiday guests. Her friend Irais is the most congenial of Elizabeth's friends and neighbors, and together they entertain themselves at the expense of the unwelcome Minora. (No, this isn't how a hostess should treat her guests, but Minora is so obnoxious that it's hard to see how Elizabeth could have done otherwise!)This book belongs on every book lover's TBR list. It's fairly short and, thanks to Project Gutenberg, is freely available to anyone with Internet access. It's well worth the time and expense.
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LibraryThing member starbox
"This is less a garden than a wilderness"
By sally tarbox on 20 October 2017
Format: Audible Audio Edition
An autobiographical account of the author - a rather disconsolate wife of a German aristocrat - the "Man of Wrath" and mother of three small daughters, whose life takes on new meaning when she
There are descriptions of her flowers and the joy of being outdoors; amusing accounts of her -often unwelcome- guests and of family life.
The author is nonetheless rather irritating. Despite a readiness to speak up and say what she thinks, she complains about her inability to actually do the gardening and that she can merely give orders to the gardeners (why? Surely in 1898 women could plant flowers?!) Despite her readiness to make sarcastic comments about the guests, she (I assume) sacks a governess whom she overhears speaking out of turn.
But it's a feel-good book with some lovely descriptions and thoughts on life.
By sally tarbox on 20 October 2017
Format: Audible Audio Edition
An autobiographical account of the author - a rather disconsolate wife of a German aristocrat - the "Man of Wrath" and mother of three small daughters, whose life takes on new meaning when she
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starts to remodel the overgrown garden of her husband's estate in Pomerania.There are descriptions of her flowers and the joy of being outdoors; amusing accounts of her -often unwelcome- guests and of family life.
The author is nonetheless rather irritating. Despite a readiness to speak up and say what she thinks, she complains about her inability to actually do the gardening and that she can merely give orders to the gardeners (why? Surely in 1898 women could plant flowers?!) Despite her readiness to make sarcastic comments about the guests, she (I assume) sacks a governess whom she overhears speaking out of turn.
But it's a feel-good book with some lovely descriptions and thoughts on life.
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LibraryThing member ptaylor12
I'd always heard of this book but never read it. I finally found a copy and really enjoyed it. Elizabeth's description of her life as the wife of a German aristocrat is fascinating. It's a great look into a world long gone.
LibraryThing member Kasthu
I’ve had Elizabeth and Her German Garden on Mount TBR since last September, and it came to my attention recently while watching the second season of Downton Abbey, when two characters talk about the book briefly in passing. The novel is a kind of diary that our heroine keeps in order to record
Yes, there’s a fair amount in the book about gardening. But you don’t have to be a gardener necessarily in order to enjoy the book (in fact, in an early review, a reviewer was disappointed that there were no gardening tips for the amateur). Knowing what we know about Elizabeth, it’s interesting to watch how she handles the invasion of two unexpected houseguests at Christmastime—and how her husband assumes that she’ll enjoy it (why did those two get married in the first place? They seem to have nothing in common). There is something kind of poetic about Elizabeth’s prose, particularly in her descriptions of her need for solitude.
There is a (slight) autobiographical note to the novel, as Elizabeth von Armin was married to a German aristocrat. Homesick for England, in 1896 she accompanied her husband to his country estate as Nassenheide, outside Berlin, where she became enamored of the garden; Elizabeth and Her German Garden describes the first spring months that von Arnim spent there. I wasn’t quite as bothered by the Man of Wrath’s actions as some other readers, but then again I think von Arnim was satirizing the Count. It was also interesting to me to find out from the Introduction to the Virago edition that EM Forster visited the estate at Nassenheide in 1904.
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her thoughts about motherhood, marriage, life—and, of course, her garden, in which she spends most of her time in order to get away from the stresses of daily life. Her husband, the Man of Wrath, doesn’t understand it, but Elizabeth’s situation will probably resonate with a lot of fellow introverts—she likes having the space in order to recharge.Yes, there’s a fair amount in the book about gardening. But you don’t have to be a gardener necessarily in order to enjoy the book (in fact, in an early review, a reviewer was disappointed that there were no gardening tips for the amateur). Knowing what we know about Elizabeth, it’s interesting to watch how she handles the invasion of two unexpected houseguests at Christmastime—and how her husband assumes that she’ll enjoy it (why did those two get married in the first place? They seem to have nothing in common). There is something kind of poetic about Elizabeth’s prose, particularly in her descriptions of her need for solitude.
There is a (slight) autobiographical note to the novel, as Elizabeth von Armin was married to a German aristocrat. Homesick for England, in 1896 she accompanied her husband to his country estate as Nassenheide, outside Berlin, where she became enamored of the garden; Elizabeth and Her German Garden describes the first spring months that von Arnim spent there. I wasn’t quite as bothered by the Man of Wrath’s actions as some other readers, but then again I think von Arnim was satirizing the Count. It was also interesting to me to find out from the Introduction to the Virago edition that EM Forster visited the estate at Nassenheide in 1904.
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LibraryThing member jamesfallen
I enjoyed Enchanted April so I thought this book would be good. It wasn't near as good. The plot and dialogue drug on and on with descriptions of flowers and rather boring conversations.
LibraryThing member densally
A wonderful treasure of a book about a time in Germany since destroyed by two world wars. Gardens and women and husbands who do not understand.
LibraryThing member ParadisePorch
I’ve been wanting to read von Arnim for some time and decided to start with this title, her 1898 debut, because it is the one that Crawley House’s Mr. Molesley gave to Anna Smith when he tried to court her during Mr. Bates’ first absence in early season 2 of Downton Abbey.
Von Arnim was a
It’s sensual, witty, and sweet all at once. 4 stars
Read this if: you love gardens; or, like me, you just want the thrill of that Downton connection!
Von Arnim was a
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young English woman who married an older German Count, and Elizabeth and her German Garden is considered semi-autobiographical. In it, a young wife and mother flees her hated social life in the city to live at one of her husband’s country estates and tend the garden.It’s sensual, witty, and sweet all at once. 4 stars
Read this if: you love gardens; or, like me, you just want the thrill of that Downton connection!
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LibraryThing member RealLifeReading
Elizabeth And Her German Garden by Elizabeth von Arnim was such a delight. It was my company before bedtime for a few weeks and it was such a gentle, lovely read to send me to sleep. Von Arnim talks quite a bit about her gorgeous garden and her seemingly idyllic, pastoral life in her country house
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in Germany, of playing with her charming young daughters, bantering with her husband ‘Man of Wrath’, entertaining a not-so-welcome house guest over the holidays. This book was such a gem of a read! Show Less
LibraryThing member murderbydeath
I loved this - I think I first heard about it from a mention by Themis-Athena, but had to await its publication here before reading it. It's a slim tome, but packed; at 104 pages, what I originally thought would be a fast read instead took me a couple of days, despite my being absorbed in it.
Mostly, it's a celebration of gardens, the outdoors, and nature, as written by one new to all of it. But buried in the narrative, structured loosely like a diary, are moments of scathing wit, social commentary, and on the part of her husband, not a little misogyny. Elizabeth and her German Garden was originally published in 1898 and though its language is of the time, Elizabeth is refreshingly modern. Her thoughts, attitude, and personality are in almost all ways indistinguishable from the average 21st century woman's voice. I loved her and her scathing, dry wit.
My only complaint about the book is it was slightly too short. After lamenting two years of summer droughts that kept her in suspense of her garden's potential, the book ends at the very start of April and spring; I desperately want to know if she finally got to see her garden in all its glory! Did the yellow border work out? Enquiring minds are left hanging!
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Mostly, it's a celebration of gardens, the outdoors, and nature, as written by one new to all of it. But buried in the narrative, structured loosely like a diary, are moments of scathing wit, social commentary, and on the part of her husband, not a little misogyny. Elizabeth and her German Garden was originally published in 1898 and though its language is of the time, Elizabeth is refreshingly modern. Her thoughts, attitude, and personality are in almost all ways indistinguishable from the average 21st century woman's voice. I loved her and her scathing, dry wit.
My only complaint about the book is it was slightly too short. After lamenting two years of summer droughts that kept her in suspense of her garden's potential, the book ends at the very start of April and spring; I desperately want to know if she finally got to see her garden in all its glory! Did the yellow border work out? Enquiring minds are left hanging!
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LibraryThing member laytonwoman3rd
This was a lovely seasonal journal to be reading in my fragrant shady lawn on a warm late summer afternoon. Witty, insightful, beautifully descriptive.
August 30, 2010
August 30, 2010
LibraryThing member rosmerta
I love this book, but i've only given it 4 and a half stars because I'm not sure it would have universal appeal. It's very gentle and thoughtful. I would love to have written this book.
LibraryThing member Herenya
I had heard of this long before I read The Enchanted April last year, and I don't know why I hadn't seriously considered reading it... maybe the description didn't grab me or I had confused it with something else? I only borrowed it because I was looking and looking through the audiobooks my
It is utterly, unexpectedly, delightful! There's very little plot but I loved the descriptions of Elizabeth's garden, of her experiences gardening, of her small daughters and her observations about being introverted. I was less entertained by details about an irritating guest but that's a minor quibble.
(It is presumably at least somewhat autobiographical -- the author's real name wasn't Elizabeth but she lived for some years at her German husband's country house. It couldbe very autobiographical, it could be highly fictionalised, and judging from the little I've read about her, it sounds like she would be pleased by that ambiguity.)
What a happy woman I am living in a garden, with books, babies, birds, and flowers, and plenty of leisure to enjoy them! Yet my town acquaintances look upon it as imprisonment, and I don't know what besides, and would rend the air with their shrieks if condemned to such a life. Sometimes I feel as if I were blest above all my fellows in being able to find my happiness so easily. I believe I should always be good if the sun always shone, and could enjoy myself very well in Siberia on a fine day. And what can life in town offer in the way of pleasure to equal the delight of any one of the calm evenings I have had this month sitting alone at the foot of the verandah steps, with the perfume of young larches all about, and the May moon hanging low over the beeches, and the beautiful silence made only more profound in its peace by the croaking of distant frogs and hooting of owls?
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library had available and this was on the last page for "classics".It is utterly, unexpectedly, delightful! There's very little plot but I loved the descriptions of Elizabeth's garden, of her experiences gardening, of her small daughters and her observations about being introverted. I was less entertained by details about an irritating guest but that's a minor quibble.
(It is presumably at least somewhat autobiographical -- the author's real name wasn't Elizabeth but she lived for some years at her German husband's country house. It couldbe very autobiographical, it could be highly fictionalised, and judging from the little I've read about her, it sounds like she would be pleased by that ambiguity.)
What a happy woman I am living in a garden, with books, babies, birds, and flowers, and plenty of leisure to enjoy them! Yet my town acquaintances look upon it as imprisonment, and I don't know what besides, and would rend the air with their shrieks if condemned to such a life. Sometimes I feel as if I were blest above all my fellows in being able to find my happiness so easily. I believe I should always be good if the sun always shone, and could enjoy myself very well in Siberia on a fine day. And what can life in town offer in the way of pleasure to equal the delight of any one of the calm evenings I have had this month sitting alone at the foot of the verandah steps, with the perfume of young larches all about, and the May moon hanging low over the beeches, and the beautiful silence made only more profound in its peace by the croaking of distant frogs and hooting of owls?
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LibraryThing member Acia
A woman constrained by the limitations of the role of women, wife, mother at that time and a husband she calls ¨man of wrath¨tries to create a space for her - by creating a garden without knowing anything about gardening guided by her intuition and books. She makes observations about the
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appalling conditions women seasonal farm workers endured, how women were likened to children and the time women in upper classes spent at parties. It seems to me that her garden was a escape for a woman fully aware of the inequality between the gender roles, and about herself as an introvert. Lovely interactions with her three small daughters. Show Less
LibraryThing member kevn57
A few interesting quotes from the book
resolutions. —only those who break them make them;
how grateful I felt to the kindly Fate that has brought me here and given me a heart to understand my own blessedness,
I do sincerely trust that the benediction that is always awaiting me in my garden may by
flowers I so much love.
resolutions. —only those who break them make them;
how grateful I felt to the kindly Fate that has brought me here and given me a heart to understand my own blessedness,
I do sincerely trust that the benediction that is always awaiting me in my garden may by
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degrees be more deserved, and that I may grow in grace, and patience, and cheerfulness, just like the happyflowers I so much love.
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LibraryThing member jennybeast
This is such a weird book to encounter in my time and place, written as it is in a vastly different one -- 1898 Germany, by a member of the aristocratic class. Parts of it are lovely (Elizabeth discovering the garden and solitude and loving her April, May and June babies), parts horrifying
I think, honestly, that so much of this book is pointed social commentary on the time and place that she lives in that I can't really figure out how to take it. Does she really think that poor people are lesser beings? Certainly that was a perfectly unremarkable attitude for her time, but the parallels with the Man of Wrath's commentary on the lesser capabilities of women are so clearly set out that it's hard to know if she's showing her own bias or deeply criticizing both perceptions. Why is she so frustrated and uncomfortable with Minora? And why is she never referred to as an English person herself, despite the fact that she was not raised in Germany, and even the semi-fictional Elizabeth in the book was clearly raised in Britain?
I loved her descriptions of the garden and her fascination with growing things. I loved her development as a gardener. I loved that she refers to her children as 'the April baby' or 'the June baby' -- there's something really sweet about that. The audio version is very well read. I just have no idea what to think about this book on the whole. It is fascinating.
Advanced Listening copy provided by Libro.fm.
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(Elizabeth's attitude towards "lesser" beings, her staff and the peasants who are kidnapped to work on her estate), parts deeply depressing (the expectations for women, the completely accepted set of ideas that they are also lesser and that it is necessary to beat them for their own happiness), and parts just weird (the way an unwelcome houseguest is treated). I think, honestly, that so much of this book is pointed social commentary on the time and place that she lives in that I can't really figure out how to take it. Does she really think that poor people are lesser beings? Certainly that was a perfectly unremarkable attitude for her time, but the parallels with the Man of Wrath's commentary on the lesser capabilities of women are so clearly set out that it's hard to know if she's showing her own bias or deeply criticizing both perceptions. Why is she so frustrated and uncomfortable with Minora? And why is she never referred to as an English person herself, despite the fact that she was not raised in Germany, and even the semi-fictional Elizabeth in the book was clearly raised in Britain?
I loved her descriptions of the garden and her fascination with growing things. I loved her development as a gardener. I loved that she refers to her children as 'the April baby' or 'the June baby' -- there's something really sweet about that. The audio version is very well read. I just have no idea what to think about this book on the whole. It is fascinating.
Advanced Listening copy provided by Libro.fm.
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Pages
88
ISBN
1466264764 / 9781466264762