Elizabeth von Arnim - The Adventures Of Elizabeth In Rugen - Little, Brown Book Group

The Adventures Of Elizabeth In Rugen

By Elizabeth von Arnim

  • Paperback
  • £15.00

* 'A triumph of comic invention' PENELOPE MORTIMER
* An astringent, self-deprecating human comedy

In 1901 the 'real' Elizabeth holidayed on the Baltic island of R?gen with just her maid, a coachman, a carriage piled with luggage, and a woman friend. From such unpromising beginnings Elizabeth weaves a captivating farrago around her encounters. There's the snobbish bishop's wife and her personable, handsome son, a dressmaker and, astonishingly, a long-lost cousin -- Charlotte -- who is trying to evade the pursuit of her husband, the maddeningly genial old professor.

Here, with delightfully astringent humour, Elizabeth recounts the misadventures that befall her. And, as she immortalised her Pomeranian wilderness in the famous ELIZABETH AND HER GERMAN GARDEN, she now writes enticingly of this remote and attractive island.

  • Other details

  • ISBN: 9781844082766
  • Publication date: 02 Feb 2006
  • Page count: 320
Biographical Notes

A greatly admired literary figure of her time, Elizabeth von Arnim was born in 1866 and brought up in England. She spent later years in Switzerland, the French Riviera and America, where she died in 1941.

A mistress of irony — Lisa St Aubin de Teran
Delicious confection — DAILY TELEGRAPH
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Christopher And Columbus

Elizabeth von Arnim

As the First World War looms, Anna-Rose and Anna-Felicitas, seventeen-year-old oprphan twins, are thrust upon relatives. But Uncle Arthur, a blustering patriot, is a reluctant guardian: the twins are half-German and, who knows, they could be spying from the nursery window... Packed off to America, they meet Mr Twist, a wealthy engineer with a tendency to motherliness, who befriends them on the voyage. However, he has failed to consider the pitfalls of taking such young and beautiful women under his wing, especially two who will continue to require this protection long after the ship has docked, and who are incapable of behaving with tact. Many adventures ensue (and befall them) in this sparklingly witty, romantic novel in which Elizabeth von Armin explores the suspicions cast upon the two Annas and Mr Twist in a country poised for war.

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Vera

Elizabeth von Arnim

Lucy Entwhistle's beloved father has just died, and aged twenty-two, she finds herself alone in the world. Leaning against her garden gate, dazed and unhappy, she is disturbed by the sudden appearance of the perspiring Mr Wemyss.This middle-aged man is also in mourning - for his wife, Vera, who has died in mysterious circumstances. Before Lucy can collect herself, Mr Wemyss has taken charge: of the funeral arrangements, of her kind Aunt Dot, but most of all of Lucy herself, body and soul. Elizabeth von Arnim's masterpiece, VERA is a forceful study of the power of men in marriage - and the weakness of women in love.

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The Pastor's Wife

Elizabeth von Arnim

Ingeborg Bullivant, the put-upon daughter of the Bishop of Redchester, suddenly becomes possessed by the demon Rebellion and takes a week's tour to Lucerne. Constantly in the company of a ponderous German pastor, she is put into a quandary when he proposes marriage. Faced with her father's wrath on her return, however, Ingeborg accepts her Herr Dremmel with simple relief.But the role of a pastor's wife in East Prussia is not as Ingeborg had imagined, for she has merely exchanged one set of rules for another ...

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Love

Elizabeth von Arnim

A gentle romance begins innocently enough in the stalls of a London theatre where Catherine is enjoying her ninth and Christopher his thirty-sixth visit to the same play.He is a magnificent young man with flame-coloured hair. She is the sweetest little thing in a hat. There is just one complication: Christopher is twenty-five, while Catherine is just a little bit older. Flattered by the passionate attentions of youth, Catherine, with marriage and motherhood behind her, is at first circumspect, but finally succumbs to her lover's charms. The engaging humour of this autobiographical novel blunts the bitter edge of irony in the hypocrisy of 1920s society.

Virago

Elizabeth And Her German Garden

Elizabeth von Arnim

May 7th -- There were days last winter when I danced for sheer joy out in my frost-bound garden in spite of my years and children. But I did it behind a bush, having a due regard for the decencies ...'Elizabeth's uniquely witty pen records each season in her beloved garden, where she escapes from the stifling routine of indoors: servants, meals, domestic routine, and the presence of her overbearing husband ...

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The Caravaners

Elizabeth von Arnim

Dear Husband, she said, actually imitating me. I know what you are going to say. I always know what you are going to say. I know all the things you ever can or ever do say. She paused for a moment, and then added in a firm voice, looking me straight in the eyes, By heart. ' For the Major and his wife Edelgard, the idea of a holiday touring Southern England in a horse-drawn gypsy caravan seems perfect. As they begin their leisurely progress through its green and verdant countryside, the holiday spirit sets in. But England presents more than a contrast of scenery to this German couple - amongst the company of their English companions Edelgard seems to undergo a change of terperament, rebealing herself to be far less biddable than the upright Major had believed. The blossoming of hedgerows is one thing, but the blossoming of his wife is quite another ...

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Mr Skeffington

Elizabeth von Arnim
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The Enchanted April

Elizabeth von Arnim
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All The Dogs Of My Life

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First published in 1936, this is the story of Elizabeth von Arnim's extraordinary life - and her equally extraordinary dogs. From her Pomeranian idyll (celebrated in her famous first book, ELIZABETH AND HER GERMAN GARDEN), to less happy days in London following the death of her first husband; from the beautiful solitude of her Swiss mountain hideaway, to the First World War and a disastrous second marriage, the author takes us on a disarmingly witty and poignangt journey of canine companionship.

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Fraulein Schmidt And Mr Anstruther

Elizabeth von Arnim
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The Solitary Summer

Elizabeth von Arnim

I want to be alone for a whole summer, and get to the very dregs of life. I want to be as idle as I can, so that my soul may have time to grow. Nobody shall be invited to stay with me, and if anyone calls they will be told that I am out, or away, or sick . . . Wouldn't a whole lovely summer, quite alone, be delightful?'This delightful companion to the famous Elizabeth and her German Garden is a witty, lyrical account of a rejuvenating, solitary summer filled with books and Elizabeth's reflections on her beloved garden. Descriptions of magnificent larkspurs and burning nasturtiums give way to those of cooling forest walks. Yet the months aren't as solitary as she'd planned: there's still her husband to pacify and the April, May and June babies to amuse.

Elizabeth von Arnim

Elizabeth von Arnim was born in Australia in 1866. In 1894 she and her first husband moved to Nassenheide which was wittily encapsulated in her most famous novel, 'Elizabeth and her German Garden'. She was described by Alice Meynell as 'one of the three finest wits of her day'.

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