The Enchanted April
-
-
5.0 • 2 Ratings
-
-
- $7.99
-
- $7.99
Publisher Description
The bestselling historical fiction basis for the Golden Globe winning film starring Alfred Molina and Miranda Richardson
Four English women who have never met agree to rent an Italian castle for the month of April with transformative effects in this “pleasant little story" (The New York Times)
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.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
This 1922 British novel is as magical and refreshing as a springtime garden party. Wanting to escape the sooty chill of London—not to mention their unhappy marriages—two middle-class housewives, Lottie and Rose, find the promise of a month of “wisteria and sunshine” in Italy irresistible. To make it affordable, they invite two other women: imperious dowager Mrs. Fisher and beautiful, spoiled Lady Caroline. Author Elizabeth Von Arnim’s keen observations about human nature make her characters seem timeless, and within that gorgeously tranquil setting, a fast-paced and witty plot kicks in. Which is to say: We already loved the evolving friendships among the four near-strangers—and then men start to enter the picture. Reading The Enchanted April relaxes, entertains, and lightens the spirit almost as much as a nice long, sunny vacation.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Four Englishwomen vacation together at an Italian castle in von Arnim's novel, a film version of which is now a popular art-house attraction.
