All the dogs of my life (Von Arnim) 397

I apologise for the lack of Virago Venture posts over the last couple of weeks - if you follow my other blog (Cardigan Girl Verity) you'll have seen that I've been reading my way through the Orange longlist. I'm nearly done, and I have a stack of VMCs at home which I'm really looking forward to getting back into. But I snuck one, by one of my favourite VMC discoveries in over the weekend. It was an enjoyable break from the more recent fiction that I've been reading, even if it didn't quite hold up to the other books that I've enjoyed by Elizabeth Von Arnim.

Rather than a novel, this is Von Arnim's autobiography, or at least the nearest she ever got to writing one. It isn't a traditional autiobiography, because she uses as a framework an account of the fourteen dogs that she owned in her life to date - so it is more of a biography of her dogs than really a story of her life.

"I would like, to begin with, to say that though parents, husbands, children, lovers and friends are all very well, they are not dogs." Dogs were hugely important to Von Arnim as reliable companions.

I didn't think it really quite worked for me - perhaps because I am not a doggy person, but mainly because she kept saying as an aside "if this wasn't a book about dogs, then I'd tell you about...." which just annoyed me, and made me wish for a proper autobiography. Elizabeth and her German Garden and The solitary summer seem to give a much better sense of Von Arnim as a person.

I wonder if there is a biography of Von Arnim out there (and if not, perhaps Virago should commission one - I'm sure it would make fascinating reading!)

That's the last Elizabeth Von Arnim that I've got to read for this challenge, although the good (and bad I suppose really) thing is that she wrote a number of novels which never made it into the VMC list and I've still got a couple of those to read. I would love to see the rest of them published as VMCs if anyone from Virago is reading this!

This was published just the once by Virago, with this slightly unusual cover. It does have a green spine even if the front of it looks quite un-Virago like!

The Adventures of Elizabeth in Rugen (Von Arnim)

I was very excited to get a copy of The adventures of Elizabeth in Rugen from ebay as I am really enjoying reading my way through Von Arnim's books at the moment. Her work falls into two types - the novels, and the more autobiographical material, the latter including Elizabeth's German Garden and The solitary summer. This book falls into that category, as

It's a book for the armchair traveller - Elizabeth makes a trip to Rugen, Germany's largest island, a popular holiday destination, and sets out to write a travel guide to it.

This doesn't quite happen:

"My itention when I began this book was to write a useful Guide to Rugen, one that should point out its best parts and least uncomfortable inns to any English or American traveller whose energy lands him on its shores. With every page I write it grows more plain that I shall not fulfil that intention. What, for instance have Charlotte and the bishop's wife of illuminating for the tourist who wants to be shown the way? As I cannot conscientiously praise the inns [Elizabeth's experiences of the inns are of constant discomfort] I will not give their names and what is the use of that to a tourist who wishes to know where to sleep and dine? I meant to describe the Jagdschloss, and find I only repeated a ghost story"...

Rather it turns into a description of her adventures with her usual characteristic wit and self-depracating humour. Although there are smatterings of advice along the way:

"A ripe experience of German pillows in country places leads me to urge the intending traveller to be sure to take his own. The native pillows are mere bags, in which feathers may have been once. There is no substance in them at all. They are of a horrid flabbiness"

Whilst I didn't enjoy this as much as her other two "autobiographical" books, it was entertaining and I think it would make a good holiday read.

It's been published three times by Virago, although the original green and italicised green editions use the same cover image. I own the original green, but rather like the new edition.

Fraulein Schmidt and Mr Anstruther (Arnim)

Fraulein Schmidt and Mr Anstruther is an absolute delight of a novel. Told in a series of letters from Rose-Marie Schmidt to Mr Anstruther it follows both Rose-Marie's life and their relationship. The dashing young Englishman, Mr Anstruther had come into Rose-Marie's life just before the correspondence started; he had lodged with her and her father for a year, and the pair had fallen in love. Before he returned to England, the pair had become engaged, although it had not been formally announced. But the relationship does not progress smoothly, and Mr Anstruther is forced to break off the engagement after his father is keen for him to marry another, more eligible spinster (one of the sub-plots of the letters is the Schmidt's impoverishment and their attempts to make do on a very small income, which includes adventures into vegetarianism (unsuccessful, leaving Rose-Marie and her father extremely hungry!) and other attempts to economise, all related in a very amusing fashion). But the story does not end there. That engagement also ends, and we find that Mr Anstruther and Rose-Marie still have feelings for each other. But will it work out? The end is surprisingly ambiguous. The storyline is well paced, and the wit and humour of the letters are just wonderful.

This title has been published just once, in the original green edition.

Sadly, I've only got one more VMC Elizabeth Von Arnim to read, her autobiography, All the dogs of my life. But the good news is that she has written a number of other books which Virago haven't yet published. I recently read Princess Priscilla's Fortnight which was absolutely hilarious and I'm looking forward to discovering more of her books. Hurrah for Virago introducing me to a truly wonderful author - I think she really is one of the discoveries of this reading project.

The solitary summer (Arnim) 382

Elizabeth Von Arnim's The solitary summer is a lovely, lyrical follow up to Elizabeth and her German garden. If anything, I enjoyed it even more than the earlier title. The book takes Elizabeth (and her garden), two years later, over the period of a summer, and provides an account of what she feels that she has achieved with the garden, what she would like to do to it, as well as reflections on her books and reading, which were wonderful.

Rather than write more about this book, I'm going to share with you some extracts from the book. I think von Arnim's writing and things that she writes about in this book are just wonderful.

"I must be by myself for the once for a whole summer through" I repeated, looking around at these things with a feeling of hardly being able to bear their beauty, and the beauty of the starry sky, and the beauty of the silence and the scent - "I must be alone so that I shall not miss one of these wonders, and have leisure to really live"

"What a blessing it is to love books. Everybody must love something and I know of no objects of love that give such substantial and unfailing returns as books and a garden"

Von Arnim describes her library, and then the collections...
"What a medley of books there is! Here is Jane Austen leaning against Heine - what would she have said to that I wonder - with Miss Mitford and Cranford to keep her in countenance on the other side. Here is my Goethe, one of the many editions I have of him, the one that has made the acquaintance of the ice house and the poppies...Walter Pater, Matthew Arnold, Thoreaum Lewis Caroll....various American children's books I loved as a child and read and loved to this day; various French children's books for the same reason, whole rows of German children's books on which I was brought up...and I verily believe, every gardening book and book about gardens that has been published of late years"

The book has been published three times by Virago, with an Italicised green cover, and two more recent ones. My copy, which Virago kindly sent me, is the

Elizabeth and her German garden (von Arnim) 173

I have been looking forward to reading Elizabeth and her German Garden for quite some time, as it is probably Elizabeth Von Arnim's most well-known work. It also reads like an autobiography, and is largely based on Von Arnim's own experiences - predominantly those of restoring the garden at the house she has moved to with her husband, but also describing her children (April, May and June baby respectively) and her own observations on life, and marriage.

Of course the descriptions of the garden and Elizabeth's plans for them are the main part of the book, and Von Arnim wonderfully describes the plants and flowers and the colours, as well as the birdsongs that she hears. Elizabeth is somewhat at odds with her gardener over her plans for the estate; he would rather have borders and bedding plants, but Elizabeth seeks to create something far more modern and inspirational.

It was an extremely gentle read, and accessible to the non-gardener. I enjoyed it very much, even if it lacked the plot and pace of her other novels, and I am very much looking forward to reading The solitary summer, which I believe is a follow up to this book.

It's been published four times by Virago; the first two green editions use the same cover illustration which I think wonderfully evokes the sense of the book. I'm not so sure about the image used on the most modern cover which is the one that I own (and which was kindly sent to me by Virago). 4*

Christopher and Columbus (von Arnim) 395

I have been enjoying Elizabeth Von Arnim, and have been reading one of her books a week (and that's rationing them!). Thank goodness she has written quite a number so I don't have to worry about running out too soon, and even when I run out of VMCs, she wrote a number which haven't been published as VMCs (I have one from the library - Princess Priscilla's fortnight which sounds intriguing).

What I love most I think about Elizabeth Von Arnim, apart from the fact that her books are gripping, enjoyable and extremely well written, is the diversity in plot between the books. There doesn't seem to be any sense of the formulaic about her novels. Or not in the seven that I've read so far.

Christopher and Columbus is an extremely diverting read about two half-German twins, Anna-Rose and Anna-Felicitas. They are seventeen year olds, recently orphaned and struggling to make a place in the world. As the book is set at the dawn of the Second World War they are extremely hampered by their nationality; thrust upon relatives, their uncle, a British patriot, is reluctant to give them a home, and packs them off to America. Hence the title - the twins think of themselves as Christopher and Columbus to try to make themselves feel more adventurous. The rest of the book sees the girls trying to make a new life for themselves in America; extremely naieve and young for their age it is lucky that they encounter a friendly self-made-man on the ship who helps them out of the fixes they find themselves in and set them up.

The book has comic charm and romance and a wonderful story - all elements making it an extremely good read. Do pick it up if you see a copy.

It's only been published the once by Virago as far as I can see with this cover which is remarkably un-twinnish (or maybe the reflection in the mirror is supposed to imply twinnishness?). My copy is actually a print on demand edition - I believe that Virago are doing this with some of their books to keep them in print. It looks exactly like the original but with a colophon indicating this at the back and it is slightly bigger sizewise than the regular VMCs. Has anyone else come across POD VMCs?

Vera (Von Arnim)

A colleague was kind enough to lend me Vera, having read about my discovery of Von Arnim this year - she is also a fan, and purchased this book in part because the title character shares a name with another of our colleagues.

I was hugely excited given other reading themes at the moment to discover that the book opens in Cornwall; the setting of Cornwall is not especially well evoked but it got the book off to a good start. We meet Lucy, whose father has just died at the beginning of their holiday. A young lady, she is bereft and doesn't know what to do with herself. Walking in the countryside, she encounters Wemyss, a man who turns out also to have been recently bereaved, his wife having died a mere fortnight ago. They establish a friendship, supporting each other and quickly fall in love despite the age difference (he is forty five) and despite the disapproval of Lucy's Aunt who turns up to take care of Lucy.

At the risk of introducing a huge spoiler - and please look away - the pair get engaged and then married, and the book takes on elements of "former wife" intrigue - there are many similarities with Jane Eyre (And the first Mrs Rochester) and Rebecca (the first Mrs De Winter) in it. Vera, Wemyss's former wife who died under mysterious circumstances (which turns out to have been a suicide) haunts the rest of the book and the relationship between the two. It's very difficult watching the young Lucy be engulfed by the atmosphere in his house where Vera once lived. I'd like to tell you more but I really don't want to give anymore of it away, it is an intensely gripping story and although creepy, certainly one of the best Von Arnims and VMCs that I have read thus far. It is worth reading the introduction after the book (it is full of spoilers) because the book strongly parallels aspects of Von Arnim's own life, and it's possible that the novel evolves out of what Von Arnim thought might have happened to her if she had not acted differently.

It's been published four times. and unusually (I haven't come across this before) has two difference cover designs for the original green version. I have the first. 5*

The caravaners (Arnim) 314

What an absolutely wonderful book The caravaners by Elizabeth von Arnim is. The premise attracted me (husband and wife and friends go on a caravaning trip in the South of England), but quite apart from the story, the entertainment was in the execution of the novel.

The book is narrated by Baron Ottringel who has gone to England with his wife Edelgard and an otherwise ill-assorted group of characters (Edelgard's sister and English brother in law, another friend, and four English people). He is unprepared for the difference in English culture and the effect that this has on the party, particularly his wife. The Baron has very strong views on women and shares them quite freely in the text; Von Arnim effectively makes him a character of ridicule which seems to fit with the feminist theme that I've encountered in much of her writing - women are actually a lot stronger than the society of the time held them to be, able to discover themselves when they get away from men; so here, Edelgard is able to escape her conventional role by being in a different country.

The rest of the entertainment comes from the incidents of caravaning life. The book put me in mind of Three men in a boat. Even the haphazard cover image on the original Virago green edition (which is the one that I own) puts me in mind of the chaos and adventure. I'm not so sure about the second Virago cover as the country scene is far too serene for the novel contained within it!

Mr Skeffington (Arnim) 391

Having enjoyed A pastor's wife so much, it wasn't going to be long before I picked up another Elizabeth von Arnim. I wanted to go for the Caravaners, but having spotted Mr Skeffington in a charity shop, my choice was made for me. It seems that I will be makingmy way through her "other" novels before reading the Garden ones and The enchanted April as a colleague has next offered to lend me Vera.

The book starts: "Fanny, who had married a Mr. Skeffington, and long ago, for reasons she considered compelling, divorced him, after not having given him a thought for years, began, to her surprise, to think of him a great deal." and this seems to sum up this rather quirky read. Fanny, Mrs Skeffington, approaching her 50s, suddenly finds herself plagued by thoughts of her ex-husband and then sets off on a trail to visit her previous lovers in an attempt to come to terms with reaching middle age.

I didn't quite enjoy it as much as A pastor's wife, but the storyline certainly had me hooked. I particularly loved the part set in Oxford, because I could imagine exactly the places that Fanny was visiting. I find Arnim's writing style witty and an absolutely pleasure and I am very much looking forward to encountering her more famous works.

As far as I can see, this book has only been published once, with this green cover, which is the one that I picked up. I thought this book was not to be confused with the 1944 film starring Bette Davis, but apparently the film is based loosely on it, although the action has been moved from England to the US!

Love (von Arnim) 297

My Valentine's Day reading had to be Love by Elizabeth von Arnim. It's very different from her other books, and didn't quite provide the fluffy, escapist, almost chick-lit read that I was anticipating. Love tells the story of Christopher and Catherine who meet at the theatre; Christopher is on his 36th visit to the play that Catherine is seeing for the ninth time. Inevitably they fall in love. Such a romantic start seemed promising, but the story was much darker and complicated. Catherine is considerably older than Christopher and the book turns into a discourse on the issues of age-gap relationships - she is concerned about her looks, what her friends and family will think, and she already has a daughter who is about Christopher's age.

The novel was wonderfully executed and I thought that Arnim handled the subject matter extremely well; it was indeed a very very good book which I would recommend to all fans of Arnim and those who have not read any of her books. According to the introduction, it is based much on Arnim's own experience, being written just after she had had her own age-gap relationship, and I think that this knowledge and awareness really shows through in the writing.

It's been published twice by Virago, and I own the more modern cover which may have contributed to my belief that it would be a light, Valentine-appropriate read.

The pastor's wife (von Arnim)

I have been looking forward to reading von Arnim's books since beginning this challenge as I would consider her to be one of the stalwart Virago Modern Classics authors. I have both Elizabeth and her German garden, and The enchanted April, but I actually started with one of her lesser known novels - The pastor's wife. What an absolutely fantastic read!

The story opens with the heroine Ingeborg going to London to have a tooth looked at. The treatment takes less time than anticipated, so rather than returning home to her pretty frustrating life supporting her father, a bishop, when she sees an advert for an excursion to Lucerne in Switzerland, she makes a spur of the minute decision to go. I thought this was perhaps one of the best openings to a book that I have ever read and made me really warm to Ingeborg. On the tour, she is befriended by a german pastor, who by the end of the week proposes marriage to her! Ingeborg is a little bewildered by his conception of marriage which doesn't seem to revolve around love, but nonetheless accepts him by the end of the trip as he seems to offer an escape from her life with her parents. She returns home, and her parents are absolutely horrified (I also loved this bit - it made me laugh and cross my fingers and wonder what would happen) but the marriage goes ahead. The rest of the book tells the story of Ingeborg's life as a Pastor's Wife. Sadly, this occupation is not much better than being a bishop's daughter; her husband becomes remote and she bears endless children. When Edward, a painter, begins to pay her attention, it is inevitable that she will be swept off her feet...

I absolutely can't wait to read more von Arnim, although I will obviously be saving The enchanted April for April. Any recommendations as to which I should go for next?

Two Virago editions - I own the original green one.