Elizabeth does not contest with him, she just acts independently. Her husband, known to us only as “the Man of Wrath,” does not seem wrathful, just scornful of women, whom he regards as children. But she loves being in the garden as it develops, and resists going to town, much to the amazement of German women visitors, who think city life is far superior (as in Jane Austen novels). Her work, then, consists of ordering seeds and supervising. Once she sneaks out when no one is looking and digs a little. She must hire gardeners and tell them what to do, not an easy task. Most frustrating for her is that she can’t do the gardening herself. Von Arnim writes with a light touch and includes many set pieces such as sleighing to church wrapped in furs, and Christmas with the children, especially the staff children. There is much talk of problems with cooks, maids, and, of course, gardeners. The reader will need to return to the world of Downton Abbey, except that the point of view is restricted to the upstairs, not the downstairs.
The garden becomes her place of refuge and delight, as she spends most of her days outdoors. Patience and failure, she says, are the lot of the gardener. The book describes her efforts and failures and renewed efforts, particularly with roses but with many other plants as well, flowers, bushes, and trees. There was no garden left, and she had no experience as a gardener but was eager to have one. She describes convincing her husband to spend more time in their country estate, which had been neglected for 25 years. She was born Mary Annette Beauchamp (later changing her name to Elizabeth) in Australia and raised in England. Billed as a novel, the text reads as a year of journal entries by Elizabeth, and the situation follows von Arnim’s life situation as wife of a German baron. Here is light summer reading, in which the main attraction is Elizabeth’s delight in her garden. Reviewed by: Priscilla Grundy on July 5, 2019 Book Review Elizabeth and Her German Garden by Elizabeth Von Arnim, 1985
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