''Elizabeth and Her German Garden'' is a novel by the Australian-born writer

Elizabeth von Arnim Elizabeth von Arnim (31 August 1866 – 9 February 1941), born Mary Annette Beauchamp, was an English novelist. Born in Australia, she married a German aristocrat, and her earliest works are set in Germany. Her first marriage made her Countess v ...

, first published in 1898. It was very popular and frequently reprinted during the early years of the 20th century. The book earned over £10,000 in the first year of publication, with 11 reprints during 1898; by May 1899, it had been reprinted 21 times.Maddison, Isobel (2012
'A Second Flowering'
pp.2-5. Katherine Mansfield Society. (published in the London Library Magazine, Issue 15, Spring 2012). Retrieved 18 July 2020Kiek, Miranda (8 November 2011

in

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

. Retrieved 19 July 2020 The book is the first in a series about the same character, "Elizabeth". It is noteworthy for originally being published without a named author. Von Arnim insisted that she must remain anonymous because she claimed her husband, the German aristocrat Count , whom she satirises in the book, would have found it unacceptable for his wife to write commercial fiction. Although the book is semi-autobiographical, the novelist

E.M. Forster Edward Morgan Forster (1 January 1879 – 7 June 1970) was an English author, best known for his novels, particularly '' A Room with a View'' (1908), ''Howards End'' (1910), and ''A Passage to India'' (1924). He also wrote numerous short stor ...

, who lived at the von Arnim estate in 1905, working as a tutor to the family's children, wrote that there was in fact not much of a garden. "‘The German Garden itself ... did not make much impression.’ ... ‘ he houseappeared to be surrounded by paddocks and shrubberies’ while ‘in the summer’, he notes, ‘some flowers – mainly pansies, tulips, roses ppeared ... and there were endless lupins ...

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

the Count was drilling for agricultural purposes’. But, Forster adds, ‘there was nothing of a show’." Count von Arnim sold the estate in 1910 due to financial problems. The manor house was destroyed in a

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

British air raid on 6 January 1944.

Plot summary

A semi-autobiographical story in the style of a year's diary written by the protagonist, Elizabeth. It is set on her husband's family estate at Nassenheide, Pomerania. Elizabeth gently mocks her husband, family and others around her as she describes her efforts to develop a garden on the estate. It includes commentary on nature and bourgeois German society, but is primarily humorous due to Elizabeth's frequent mistakes and her idiosyncratic outlook on life. She looked down upon the frivolous fashions of her time writing “I believe all needlework and dressmaking is of the devil, designed to keep women from study.”

In popular culture

In the ITV series

Downton Abbey ''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. The series first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United States o ...

, in the second episode of the second season, Joseph Molesley, Matthew Crawley's valet, lends a copy of ''Elizabeth and her German Garden'' to the head housemaid Anna Smith, as a tentative romantic gesture. In July 2015, it was adapted in five episodes for the

Book at Bedtime ''Book at Bedtime'' (''A Book at Bedtime'' until 9 July 1993) is a long-running radio programme that is broadcast on BBC Radio 4 each weekday evening between 22.45 and 23.00. The programme presents readings of fiction, including modern classics, ...

series on

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, and read by Caroline Martin.BBC Sounds. Elizabeth and her German Garden
Retrieved 12 August 2020 In the novel ''The Shell Seekers'' (1988) by

Rosamunde Pilcher Rosamunde Pilcher, OBE (''née'' Scott; 22 September 1924 – 6 February 2019) was a British writer of romance novels, mainstream fiction, and short stories, from 1949 until her retirement in 2000. Her novels sold over 60 million copies world ...

, Sophie reads Elizabeth von Arnim's "Elizabeth and her German Garden“. In chapter 9 ("Sophie“), Sophie says to Penelope: " ��I always go back to it. It comforts me. Soothes me. It reminds me of a world that once existed and will exist again when the war has finished." In the novel ''The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society'', it is referred to by Elizabeth as having been the topic of discussion at the society meeting that she pretended had taken place on the night of the roast pork dinner.

Literature

* Eberle, Iwona: ''Eve with a Spade: Women, Gardens, and Literature in the Nineteenth Century.'' Munich: Grin, 2011. * Haines, Sheila. ''‘Angles had everywhere taken the place of curves’: Elizabeth von Arnim and the German Garden.'' In: ''Turn of the Century Women'' 2.2 (1985): 36-41. * Howard, Elizabeth Jane. Introduction to ''Elizabeth and Her German Garden'', by Elizabeth von Arnim. London: Virago, 1985. v-xii. * Kellaway, Deborah. ''Gardening writers.'' In: ''The Cambridge Guide to Women’s Writing in English.'' Ed. Lorna Sage, advis. eds. Germaine Greer et al. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. 263f. * Paparunas, Penny. ''Geschlechterdiskurs um 1900 – Review of Elizabeth von Arnim's 'Elisabeth und ihr Garten'.'' Frauenzeitung 2 (2007): 41. * Roemhild, Juliane. ''Feminity and Authorship in the Novels of Elizabeth von Arnim.'' New Jersey, Fairleigh Dickinson University Press 2014. * Trodd, Anthea. ''Elizabeth and Her German Garden.'' In: ''The Cambridge Guide to Women's Writing in English.'' Ed. Lorna Sage, advis. eds. Germaine Greer et al. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. 219.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Elizabeth And Her German Garden 1898 British novels Novels by Elizabeth von Arnim