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Showing 1 - 25 of
205 matches in All Departments
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Introduction to Sally
Elizabeth Von Arnim; Afterword by Simon Thomas
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R314
R256
Discovery Miles 2 560
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A Pygmalion-style story told with von Arnim’s characteristic wit
and charm, this novel introduces us to Salvatia (known as Sally), a
much longed-for child to humble shopkeepers. Sally grows up to be
an extremely beautiful girl, attracting the attentions of every man
who sees her. When her mother dies, her father decides it is just
too difficult to defend her virtue and marries her to the first man
who proposes. But Jocelyn is about to learn a lesson in marrying
for looks alone. The two are from very different classes and have
nothing in common: beauty can only bridge the gap so far.
Meanwhile, his mother is being pursued by her own unsuitable suitor
– debating if she can tolerate his crass personality in return
for the security of his wealth. Von Arnim turns her ironic humour
to great effect in showing us the follies of her cast of
characters, whom we can’t help wishing the best for, despite
everything.
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Father (Paperback)
Elizabeth Von Arnim
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R316
R259
Discovery Miles 2 590
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Since her mother's death Jennifer has devoted years of her life to
her father, managing the family home and acting as his secretary.
After the sudden announcement that he has taken a new wife,
Jennifer, at 33, seizes the opportunity to lead an independent
life. Quickly she secures the lease of Rose Cottage and turns her
attention to her own needs and interests. Published in 1931, Father
explores the concept of spinsterhood in a time when the financial
and social status of single women were often dependent on male
family members. While Jennifer is desperate to experience life on
her own terms within her reduced financial means, her neighbour
Alice is pre-occupied with ensuring her position as head of her
brother's household is never challenged.
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Expiation (Paperback)
Elizabeth Von Arnim; Preface by Valerie Grove
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R528
Discovery Miles 5 280
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Ships in 9 - 15 working days
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The Enchanted April (Hardcover)
Elizabeth Von Arnim; Introduction by Salley Vickers
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R240
R192
Discovery Miles 1 920
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Introducing Little Clothbound Classics: irresistible, mini editions
of short stories, novellas and essays from the world's greatest
writers, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith.
Celebrating the range and diversity of Penguin Classics, they take
us from snowy Japan to springtime Vienna, from haunted New England
to a sun-drenched Mediterranean island, and from a game of chess on
the ocean to a love story on the moon. Beautifully designed and
printed, these collectible editions are bound in colourful, tactile
cloth and stamped with foil. The Enchanted April, Elizabeth von
Arnim's brilliant, irrepressible novella, tells the tale of four
very different women who, on answering an advertisement in The
Times, find themselves far away from the drizzle of London and
instead in the warmth of an Italian sun. There, alongside the
lapping of the Mediterranean, the women's spirits begin to shift,
and quite unexpected changes take place.
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The Enchanted April (Paperback)
Elizabeth Von Arnim; Introduction by Brenda Bowen
1
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R442
R363
Discovery Miles 3 630
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The charming, slyly comic novel of romantic longing and
transformation that inspired the Oscar-nominated film Four very
different women, looking to escape dreary London for the sunshine
of Italy, take up an offer advertised in the Times for a "small
medieval Italian Castle on the shores of the Mediterranean to be
let furnished for the month of April." As each blossoms in the
warmth of the Italian spring, quite unexpected changes occur. An
immediate bestseller upon its first publication, in 1922, The
Enchanted April set off a craze for tourism to the Italian Riviera
that continues today. Published here to coincide with a
contemporary retelling, Enchanted August by Brenda Bowen, it's a
witty ensemble piece and the perfect romantic rediscovery for fans
of Jess Walter's Beautiful Ruins and Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray,
Love as well as of Downton Abbey and the hit movie The Best Exotic
Marigold Hotel. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the
leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking
world. With more than 1,500 titles, Penguin Classics represents a
global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across
genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide
authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by
distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as
up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
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The Enchanted April (Paperback)
Elizabeth Von Arnim; Introduction by Salley Vickers
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R279
R227
Discovery Miles 2 270
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Ships in 9 - 15 working days
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'This delicious confection will work its magic on all' Daily
Telegraph The discreet advertisement in The Times, addressed 'To
Those who Appreciate Wistaria and Sunshine', offers a small
medieval castle for rent, above a bay on the Italian Riviera. Four
very different women - the dishevelled and downtrodden Mrs Wilkins,
the sad, sweet-faced Mrs Arbuthnot, the formidable widow Mrs Fisher
and the ravishing socialite Lady Caroline Dester - are drawn to the
shores of the Mediterranean that April. As each, in turn, blossoms
in the warmth of the Italian spring and finds their spirits
stirring, quite unexpected changes occur. The Enchanted April,
published in 1922, is a witty and delightful depiction of what it
is like to rediscover joy. 'Brims with magic and laughter' Amanda
Craig, Guardian Includes a new introduction by Salley Vickers,
author of Miss Garnet's Angel
Four women, with very different backgrounds and characters - the artless Lottie Wilkins, the pious Rose Arbuthnot, the cantankerous Mrs Fisher and the haughty Lady Caroline Dester - respond to an advertisement in The Times offering a medieval castle to rent in Italy that April. As their joint holiday begins, tensions flare up between them, but they soon bond over their past misfortunes and rediscover hope and the pleasures of life in their tranquil surroundings. A huge best-seller when it was published in 1922, The Enchanted April has inspired generations of readers since and established Portofino and the Italian Riviera as a mainstay of the tourist circuit.
Elizabeth von Arnim's eighth novel is a sharp contrast to the sunny
optimism of her first best-seller Elizabeth and her German Garden
(1898) and her later hit The Enchanted April (1922, adapted several
times for screen and stage, including the 1991 film). The
Caravaners (1909) is a devastating comedy about an Edwardian
caravan holiday in Kent, narrated by the pompous and self-important
Baron, a Prussian Major in the German army. His narrative of pained
bewilderment at the bizarre behaviour of the English people with
whom he has chosen to spend a month in a convoy of horse-drawn
holiday caravans (they unaccountably cut the holiday short after
only a week) is side-splittingly funny. We sympathise deeply with
the lady whom he pursues in a platonic and very one-sided holiday
affair, and even more with Baroness Edelgard, the Baron's
long-suffering and much younger second wife, who discovers her own
holiday freedoms, and becomes newly emancipated in her marriage, to
the Baron's horror. `Elizabeth von Arnim' was the pen-name of Mary
Annette Beauchamp (1866-1941), an Australian-born British novelist
and a cousin of Katherine Mansfield. Her much-loved Prussian
husband, Count Henning von Arnim, died a year after she published
The Caravaners. The novel reflects her frustration with and
exasperated affection for German aristocratic society, and reveals
the lost world of European social networks and crusted assumptions
that disappeared forever with the First World War, only a few years
after The Caravaners' publication. It is also one of the funniest
feminist novels ever written.
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The Enchanted April (Hardcover)
Elizabeth Von Arnim; Introduction by Sarah Dunant
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R473
R388
Discovery Miles 3 880
Save R85 (18%)
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Ships in 9 - 15 working days
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A discreet advertisement in 'The Times', addressed to 'Those who
Apppreciate Wisteria and Sunshine...' is the impetus for a
revelatory month for four very different women. High above the bay
on the Italian Riviera stands San Salvatore, a mediaeval castle.
Beckoned to this haven are Mrs. Wilkins, Mrs Arbuthnot, Mrs Fisher
and Lady Caroline Dester, each quietly craving a respite. Lulled by
the Mediterranean spirit, they gradually shed their skins and
discover a harmony each of them has longed for but never known.
First published in 1922 and reminscient of 'Elizabeth and her
German Garden', this delightful novel is imbued with the
descriptive power and light-hearted irreverence for which Elizabeth
von Arnin is renowned.
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The Enchanted April
Elizabeth Von Arnim
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R434
Discovery Miles 4 340
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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Beauty; beauty. What was the good of beauty, once it was over? It
left nothing behind it but acid regrets, and no heart at all to
start fresh.' Approaching the watershed of her fiftieth birthday,
Fanny, having long ago divorced Mr Skeffington and dismissed him
from her thoughts for many years, is surprised to find herself
thinking of him often. While attempting to understand this
invasion, she meets, through a series of coincidences and
deliberate actions, all those other men whose hearts she broke. But
their lives have irrevocably changed and Fanny is no longer the
exquisite beauty with whom they were all once enchanted. If she is
to survive, Fanny discovers, she must confront a greatly altered
perception of her self. With the delicate piquancy for which she is
renowned, Elizabeth von Arnim here reveals the complexities
involved in the process of ageing and in re-evaluating self-worth.
Originally published in 1922, Elizabeth Von Arnim's The Enchanted
April is a charming and light-hearted novel about unlikely female
friendships and the power of a blissful escape. Complete &
Unabridged. Part of the Macmillan Collector's Library; a series of
stunning, cloth-bound, pocket-sized classics with gold foiled edges
and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a
treat for any book lover. Four mismatched women respond to an
advert in The Times offering a beautiful medieval castle to rent on
the Italian Riviera. Bashful Mrs Wilkins, cheerless Mrs Arbuthnot,
widowed Mrs Fisher and socialite Lady Caroline Dester are each
enchanted by the promise of 'wisteria and sunshine', and they
arrive on the tranquil Mediterranean shores full of hope for a
heavenly escape. Tensions mount between the group at first, but, as
the idyllic spring days tick by, each is slowly transformed by the
warm sunshine and unexpected company.
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The Enchanted April (Paperback)
Elizabeth Von Arnim; Introduction by Cathleen Schine
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R481
R399
Discovery Miles 3 990
Save R82 (17%)
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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A recipe for happiness: four women, one medieval Italian castle,
plenty of wisteria, and solitude as needed.
The women at the center of "The Enchanted April "are alike only in
their dissatisfaction with their everyday lives. They find each
other--and the castle of their dreams--through a classified ad in a
London newspaper one rainy February afternoon. The ladies expect a
pleasant holiday, but they don't anticipate that the month they
spend in Portofino will reintroduce them to their true natures and
reacquaint them with joy. Now, if the same transformation can be
worked on their husbands and lovers, the enchantment will be
complete.
"The Enchanted April" was a best-seller in both England and the
United States, where it was a Book-of-the-Month Club selection, and
set off a craze for tourism to Portofino. More recently, the novel
has been the inspiration for a major film and a Broadway play.
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The Enchanted April (Paperback)
Elizabeth Von Arnim; Introduction by Brenda Bowen
2
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R283
R231
Discovery Miles 2 310
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Ships in 9 - 15 working days
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WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY BRENDA BOWEN Mrs Wilkins and Mrs Arbuthnot,
cowed and neglected by their husbands, make a daring plan: they
will have a holiday. Leaving a drab and rainy London one April and
arriving on the shores of the Mediterranean, they discover a
flower-filled paradise of beauty, warmth and leisure. Joined by the
beautiful Lady Caroline and domineering Mrs Fisher, also in flight
from the burdens of their daily lives, the four women proceed to
transform themselves and their prospects.
'Now she had taken off her goodness and left it behind her like a
heap of rain-sodden clothes, and she only felt joy' Mrs Wilkins and
Mrs Arbuthnot, cowed and neglected by their husbands, make a daring
plan: they will have a holiday. Leaving a drab and rainy London one
April and arriving on the shores of the Mediterranean, they
discover a flower-filled paradise of beauty, warmth and leisure.
Joined by the beautiful Lady Caroline and domineering Mrs Fisher,
also in flight from the burdens of their daily lives, the four
women proceed to transform themselves and their prospects. VINTAGE
DECO: Nine blazing, daring novels to celebrate the 1920s - 100
years on.
What on earth could have induced Mr Anstruther to fall in love with
Fraulein Schmidt? He is an eligible English bachelor from a good
family with great expectations; she is the plain, poor, 'spinster'
daughter of a German scholar. But Rose-Marie Schmidt is also funny,
intelligent, brave and gifted with an irrepressible talent for
happiness. The real question is, does Mr Anstruther know how lucky
he is?
' "Oh, my dear, relations are like drugs, - useful sometimes, and
even pleasant, if taken in small quantities and seldom, but
dreadfully pernicious on the whole, and the truly wise avoid them"
' Taking respite from the Man of Wrath, her children and her
stifling household, Elizabeth discovers that the path to joy lies
in having a garden, rather than a room, of one's own. This
enchanting semi-autobiographical novel delighted readers when it
first appeared in 1898 and has never been out of print since. The
Penguin English Library - collectable general readers' editions of
the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century to the end
of the Second World War.
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