The Enchanted April: Collins Classics

Born Mary Annette Beauchamp, Elizabeth von Armin (1866¿1941) was an English novelist best known for the semi-autobiographical dark comedy Vera (1921) and the historical romance The Enchanted April (1922). Armin's literary career would begin at the age of thirty-two, formally introducing herself to the world as "Elizabeth" with her debut satire Elizabeth and Her German Garden (1898); she would go on to produce over a dozen works of fiction over the course of forty years as well as a pseudo-autobiography All the Dogs in My Life (1936). In her personal life, Armin was also connected to several influential literary figures of the nineteenth and early twentieth century by either relation or sheer coincidence including Kathleen Mansfield, H.G. Wells, E.M. Forester and Hugh Walpole. With several of her works being adapted for both stage and screen (most notable being 1992's Academy Award-winning The Enchanted April) Armin's literary talent continues to delight and dazzle readers of the modern age.

"A pleasant...little story, with some neat phrasing and a genuine feeling for color and for beauty."--The New York Times

"The Enchanted April sounds as if it would be an appallingly cloying cream puff of a fairy tale, but that would be to ignore that the author habitually kept a pot of lemon juice mixed with vinegar beside her ink-pot. With this bracing element there is additionally what can only be called a feast of flowers, hanging from every wall and pouring scent over the company."--Times Literary Supplement

"[A]n expression of the propensity of people to be blind to the real secret of happiness, and that it showed how exquisitely men and women get upon each others' nerves and how they suffer from each others' egos."--National Review

"...extraordinarily well written...it is witty, human, often very beautiful."--Punch

"[A] comedy of absolutely flawless mirth...a very beautiful...and touching book."--Chris Morley

"[A] restful, funny, sumptuous, and invigorating vacation for the mind and soul." --500 Great Books By Women