The Enchanted April

Description

Elizabeth von Arnim’s novel is about four English ladies, Lotty Wilkins, Rose Arbuthnot, Margaret Fisher and Caroline Dester, who decide to rent a villa in Italy to vacation near Portofino.

The four ladies come from different family backgrounds, have a different take on life and are very different in terms of character as well, so their vacation together is going to be a life changing series of events for all of them. They all start to change as soon as they move into the villa – Lotty who is nervous in the beginning becomes calm and mature; Rose realizes that she is beautiful; Margaret who used to be demanding and very strict now loosens up and becomes more relaxed, while Caroline who lived a busy social life back home, but felt lonely deep in her heart finds real friendship. The story might seem like a typical romantic ladies’ story, but von Armin’s talent as a story teller guarantees that it is much more than that. It is not only the charm and beauty of Italy and of the villa rented that brings out the best of the four dwellers, but interaction and communication that brings about change in how the characters perceive themselves, each other and the world around. The story was first published in 1922. Written after a vacation in Italy and inspired by the author’s own life experiences as an unhappily married woman, the four characters are all very lifelike, with all their problems and passions.

Elizabeth von Armin provides an incredibly rich and colorful depiction of the souls of the women in the story, so much so that the book was adapted to stage and films more than one times. It was made into a Broadway play in 1932 and adapted to the stage in again in 2003 and it was also made into a feature film in 1935, then another one in 1992 – this second movie was also nominated for the Academy Awards.
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