Books
by Elizabeth von Arnim
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Elizabeth and her German Garden |
As obligatory reading-list material at school this bored me but rediscovering it now is pure delight. Elizabeth married the quintessential chauvinistic Prussian aristocrat and, moving to his estate in the far north of Germany, fell in love with the rambling overgrown garden, which she set about redesigning. Anti-conformist, irreverent and independent-minded, this almost entirely autobiographical account of troublesome guests, grumpy gardeners, stern husband and above all her beloved garden is delectably funny and wise.
(Annabel Bedini - bwl 50 March 2009) |
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