The Enchanted April in Crazy Challenge Connection

Jun 06, 2011 Book Concierge rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: concierge, library, italy, movie, love

Mrs Wilkins (Lotty) is spending a February afternoon at the Women’s Club when she happens to see an advertisement in the newspaper – a “castle” to let for the month of April in sunny Italy. This very proper British wife of an up-and-coming solicitor would never dream of doing anything so rash as going on holiday without her husband. And yet … who could blame her for desiring “wisteria and sunshine,” and she does have that little nest egg saved. Oh, but she couldn’t possibly … As she turns from h Mrs Wilkins (Lotty) is spending a February afternoon at the Women’s Club when she happens to see an advertisement in the newspaper – a “castle” to let for the month of April in sunny Italy. This very proper British wife of an up-and-coming solicitor would never dream of doing anything so rash as going on holiday without her husband. And yet … who could blame her for desiring “wisteria and sunshine,” and she does have that little nest egg saved. Oh, but she couldn’t possibly … As she turns from her reverie she sees that Mrs Arbuthnot (Rose), a woman she knows only by sight and with whom she’s never spoken, is now looking at the same page of the paper. Could she possibly be looking at the same advertisement? Could they manage it if they did it together, perhaps with one or two other women as well?

Thus begins a delightful adventure for four women who really do not know one another but agree to share the unique property. It is not quite what they were expecting, but somehow everything they dreamed of; friendship and love bloom along with wisteria in the Italian sunshine.

This is a gentle read. The story moves with the languorous pace of a day spent relaxing in the sun, with nothing more to worry about than what time lunch will be served. Von Arnim really gives us just a snapshot of these four women during one month spent in Italy; the reader learns about them in dribs and drabs … much as you would discover a new acquaintance (and hoped-for friend).

I found Lotty’s enthusiasm infectious; in fact, it is she who brings the others to a sense of peace and happiness. Rose and Lady Caroline Dester are perhaps the least happy with their lives in London, but each begins to flower as she relaxes and sheds her anxieties and worries. And Mrs Fisher has possibly found a true friend to comfort her in her old age. We get to know a little about their lives before they came to San Salvatore, but we are left to imagine what will happen once they leave.

One thing that surprised me was Lotty’s seeming ability to “see” what will happen. In that respect there was a bit of “magic” to the tale, and the story reminded me of modern works by Sarah Addison Allen.

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Jun 13, 2014 Carol rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: excellent

What an enjoyable read, originally published in 1922, these wonderful women decide to leave their dissatisfaction with these boring everyday life, and reply to a London ad about this Italian medieval castle available in April to those who are looking for a change. Love the characters -- Rose (there for the poor), Lotty (who seems to say and do the wrong thing), Lady Caroline is tired of being the attracted to others, and Mrs. Fisher who has a lonely, sad disposition. At some point, each woman wa ...more

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Sep 28, 2020 Veronika rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: hetero-romance, female-author, 1900s

Nette Lektüre und wundervolle Beschreibungen von einem italienischen Frühling. Aber die Charakterwandlungen und die Liebesgeschichten, bzw Ehegeschichten fand ich durchweg recht unbefriedigend. Und dass der armen Lady Caroline, die extra vor ihren Verehren flieht, am Ende noch aus dem Nichts ein Love Interest aufgenötigt wird, fand ich hochgradig unnötig und unangenehm.

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Aug 18, 2020 Bucket rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, literary, classic, nature-the-outdoors, friendship, women, identity, travel, adventure, read-with-dan

This was fun and simple. It reminded me quite a bit of I Capture the Castle, but less subtle if such a thing is even possible.

The events are heavy-handed. Lotty has near-magical empathy powers; the house transforms everyone who goes there for the better, even the curmudgeonly Mrs. Fisher, restoring old love and creating new.

But for a quick summer read, I didn't mind. And the characters are charming and the setting is well done, which is probably what has made this one stand the test of time a bi ...more

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