Product Description

'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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #41051 in Books
• Published on: 2006-02-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

Review
'Recreates a Wordsworthian sense of rapturous awe' DEBORAH KELLAWAY *'An intriguing portrait of a complex and frustrated woman' The Times *'[von Arnim] was keenly aware of the powelessness of an intelligent woman in a male-dominated society' Kate Saunders

About the Author
Elizabeth von Arnim was born in 1866 in Sydney, Australia, and brought up in England. She lived much of her life in Switzerland, where she entertained such guests as H.G. Wells (with whom she had an affair) and Katherine Mansfield, her cousin.

Customer Reviews

Funny, bitter-sweet memoir of a Victorian novelist
Elizabeth von Arnim lived an uncoventional life. Despite being a member of German aristocracy through marriage, she rejected the frivolous life-style of her class and found refuge in books and nature.

The Solitary Summer is the very funny and life-affirming account of a year at her summer residence. She writes of her children, of her attempts at gardening and the rigours of running her household. A theme throughout is her longing to throw down her responsibilities and escape to the countryside or to her library.

Von Arnim was a feminist but one who recognised that wit was perhaps the best weapon in puncturing the chauvanism and narrow-mindedness of her age. Her voice rings out as caustic, playful and beguiling as it was over a century ago.