Elizabeth von Arnim was a woman with a fascinating biography. Born in Kirribilli Point, Australia, in 1866, she married a wealthy German aristocrat, lived in various places around Europe, and hung out with many prominent and influential writers, philosophers, and publishers, enjoying the lifestyle of the upper crust of society. The names comprising her social circle are a veritable who’s who of the early 20th century cultural and literary scene. At the start of the Second World War, she left Europe and moved to Charleston, South Carolina, where she died in 1941. But not even death was the end of the journey, as her ashes were later deposited in the village of Tylers Green in England.
Arnim was a traveller, a socialite, a wife and mother—and an accomplished author of seventeen novels, some of which were later successfully adapted into films and theatre plays. Witty and humorous, these works reflect a lot of Elizabeth’s character. Her first book was the semi-autobiographical novel Elizabeth and Her German Garden, published in 1898. Those unfamiliar with this author will find it a very convenient introduction to Arnim and her world.
This is one of those books where seemingly nothing much happens, but I don’t mean it in a negative sense. Written in the form of a diary, Elizabeth records her life on one of her husband’s estates in Pomerania (now part of Poland), making observations about the locals and their customs, along with witty remarks on the cultural differences between her background and that of her husband’s (whom she addresses as “the Man of Wrath”). There are also insightful comments on pressing social issues, such as the emancipation of women, as well as general observations on the way of life in the predominantly Lutheran Northern Germany.
A large portion of the book is about gardening, as you could probably tell from the title. Elizabeth goes into great detail describing different plants and flowers that she intends to grow on the long-neglected family estate, making this a particularly pleasurable and amusing read for people who are into botany. Living in a somewhat unhappy marriage, in a land foreign to her, Elizabeth’s garden becomes the place of solace and pleasure—and a kind of privileged location where she can freely muse and ruminate, without much distraction from her husband or those pesky house servants.
There are lovely passages of elegant nature writing, in which Arnim extols the virtues of simple country living as opposed to urban lifestyle, which are nowadays perhaps even more resonant than they were at the time of writing. To give you a taste of her writing style, here’s a short extract from the first diary entry, dated 7th May:
My garden is surrounded by cornfields and meadows, and beyond are great stretches of sandy heath and pine forests, and where the forests leave off the bare heath begins again; but the forests are beautiful in their lofty, pink-stemmed vastness, far overhead the crowns of softest gray-green, and underfoot a bright green whortleberry carpet, and everywhere the breathless silence; and the bare heaths are beautiful too, for one can see across them into eternity almost, and to go out on to them with one’s face towards the setting sun is like going into the very presence of God.
Contemporary readers might find portions of this book a bit tedious, especially if they aren’t used to late-Victorian literary aesthetics and verbosity (or if they don’t particularly care for flowers; or for the classism embedded in Arnim’s musings). However, the fact that the book has been in continuous print since 1898 does say something. It’s very nicely written, with gorgeous, rich descriptions of a quiet, provincial life, as well as entertaining dialogues offering glimpses into the lives of northern German landed gentry of the late 1800s.
It was a joy to read, but I admit it probably won’t be to everyone’s taste. Don’t let that discourage you from reading some of Arnim’s other works, which are quite different in both substance and style.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Elizabeth and Her German Garden – free ebook in different formats available from Project Gutenberg
The Elizabeth von Arnim Society – The International Society Devoted to Scholarship on Elizabeth von Arnim
The Many Lives of Elizabeth von Arnim – a Sydney Review of Books article
IMAGE CREDIT
Photo by Shalev Cohen via Unsplash.
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