The Enchanted April

"To Those who Appreciate Wistaria and Sunshine.

Small mediaeval Italian Castle on the shores of the

          Mediterranean to be Let Furnished 

                      for the month of April.

                  Necessary servants remain.

                                     Z., Box 1000, The Times."

via

And thus did Mrs. Wilkins and Mrs. Arbuthnot reply to the above advertisement and rent San Salvatore for the month of April, escaping their miserable lives in London. Along with a Mrs. Fisher and Lady Caroline Dester they awoke one April morning in Paradise.

via

"Such beauty; and she there to see it.

Such beauty; and she alive to feel it.

Her face was bathed in light.

Lovely scents came up to the window and caressed her.

A tiny breeze gently lifted her hair…

How beautiful.

Not to have died before this…

to have been allowed to see, breathe, feel this."

from The Enchanted April

by Elizabeth von Armin

My 1924 copy of The Enchanted April reads: "By the Author of "Elizabeth and Her German Garden." Now we know that both books, and others, were written by Elizabeth von Armin. 

via

I reread this book every April and watch the gorgeous movie. Perhaps it should be required reading for all engaged couples and at every wedding anniversary.

Mrs. Wilkins' husband, Mellersh, "a solicitor, encouraged thrift, except that branch of it which got into his food. He did not call that thrift, he called it bad housekeeping." 

When Mrs. Wilkins' and Mrs. Arbuthnot's husbands arrived at San Salvatore, Mr. Wilkins was impressed that his Lotty had made the acquaintance of wealthy Lady Caroline.

via

Mellersh is played by one of my favorite actors, Alfred Molina:

Lotty Wilkins is played by Josie Lawrence, who unlike Lotty is obviously noticed at parties:

via

Mrs. Wilkins is "the kind of person who is not noticed at parties. Her clothes, infested by thrift, made her practically invisible. Her face was non-arresting; her conversation was reluctant, she was shy."

Rose Arbuthnot is played by Miranda Richardson:

via

Mrs. Arbuthnot's husband Frederick is played by the incomparable Jim Broadbent:

via

"Frederick had been the kind of husband whose wife betakes herself early to the feet of God."

via

Clearly, Frederick has been besotted with Lady Caroline. Rose is, by all accounts, a neglected wife. But at San Salvatore the madonna-like beauty of Rose attracts Mr. Briggs, their landlord.

Mr. Briggs is played by Michael Kitchen, the star of "Foyle's War":

via

He finds something in Rose Arbuthnot that Mr. Arbuthnot has not seen.

via

"…the more Mr. Briggs thought Rose charming the more charming she became."

via

Rose became quite captivating, as husband Frederick soon realized.

via

And there is reluctant femme fatale Lady Caroline, played by beautiful Polly Walker:

via

Lady Caroline is at San Salvatore to be left alone, or so she thinks, to sleep, not to be called upon to give orders to the servants in her fluent Italian. 

"I haven't come here to housekeep, and I won't."

She was tired of her mother telling her what to do, tired of men grasping at her, tired of silly women being jealous of her.

"She didn't want their tiresome men."

via

And then there is autocratic Mrs. Fisher, played by indomitable Dame Joan Plowright:

via

Plowright, once married to Laurence Olivier, plays the role of Mrs. Fisher with all the determination in those dark brown eyes that appear almost black. Stubborn, proud, insistent on her own way, but Lotty Wilkins senses her vulnerability.

via

Lotty "sees" Mrs. Fisher's hidden needs, Lady Caroline's, Mr. Briggs', the Arbuthnots'. She even finally sees her husband Mellersh's, because she believes the best of everyone. 

San Salvatore causes her to "see" it all, in the magic of "The Enchanted April."

"The View from Mrs. Wilkins's Bedroom

After a Water-Colour by the Hon. Lady Mallet"

The Simple Things of Life - # 10

The Simple Things of Life Are the Best…

Like the Love of a Pet.

Otis and Milo

Milo

Otis

Katie Belle

Brown Eyes

Sammi Gayle

Brown Eyes, Sammi Gayle, Katie Belle

And the sweet memories of pets no longer with us…

Penelope

Tex

Dallas

Jake and Tex

Abilene

Bird Dog

Gort

Puppalena

"Asking nothing in return, and, whatever happens,

never going to complain,

never going to be cross,

never going to judge,

and against whom no sin committed will be

too great for immediate and joyful forgiveness.

Saints, in fact.

Cheerful saints, too, which I think is important."

from All the Dogs of My Life

by Elizabeth von Arnim

The Simple Things of Life - # 9

The Simple Things of Life Are the Best…

Like Daffodils in March.

The garden has not yet been prettied up.

Last summer's hosta leaves and flower stalks remain.

I try to tell myself they're interesting,

that they add character,

serve as counterpoise to the daffodil's beauty.

I tell myself that autumn's fallen leaves

add protective mulch in cold March nights.

I remind myself that a rolling stone gathers no moss,

and that I love, love, love moss.

So, I'll just keep still and admire the simple beauty

of daffodils and moss

in an untidy March garden.

The Simple Things of Life - # 8

The Simple Things of Life Are the Best…

Like Staying Home.

When I was a young woman in my 30s, I dreamed of taking theater trips to NYC with Nashville theater critic Clara Hieronymus' group and attending Broadway plays. Failing that, I wished I could buy season passes to the symphony here in Nashville.

While nothing like that ever happened, except for December trips with our daughter to see the Nutcracker Suite ballet, when I turned 58 my sister and I bought season passes for our mother and us to TPAC in Nashville so that we three could attend plays. By the end of the first performance I was only pretending to love it because they did.

It was a very long season, with me dreading Sunday afternoons, other than for the pleasure of being with them. I thought about how many good movies we could have seen for the price of those season passes. Or better yet, how many more movies we could buy and watch from the comfort of home.

The necessary gene for enjoying live entertainment must be lacking in me. I would rather be in my own house and watch a movie in my pajamas. I would rather listen to my own CDs than go to the Schemerhorn Symphony Center. And I do not yet want my music coming from an iPod. I like holding my CDs in my hand and choosing one, even wish I still had the large LPs I grew up loving.

Mrs. Potter, the heroine of my beloved Virginia Rich mysteries, agreed with me:

"Trouble is, she told herself,

you will never be anything but a small-town person.

You're content with books and records

instead of concerts and theater,

and you know no matter how shameful it is to admit this,

that you can't stand grand opera.

You seldom enjoy shopping and you prefer

to do it by mail or telephone whenever you can.

You have eaten too many overpriced

and overrated restaurant meals,

and perhaps even enough really good ones."

from The Baked Bean Supper Murders

by Virginia Rich

Books, records, movie night on television in my pajamas--heaven!

But I will play my Puccini CD for dinner music.

And I would never turn down an invitation to dinner at a nice restaurant

or an invitation to a dinner party.

Other than that, staying home sounds best,

even with dirty dishes waiting in the sink.

[Note: the white Italian dishes are my favorite when serving fish. 

And Virginia Rich, one of the very first authors of culinary mysteries,

is a favorite of mine too. Sadly she passed away after writing only a few books.]

The Simple Things of Life - # 7

The Simple Things of Life Are the Best…

Like an Old Green Kitchen Chair.

Re: Picasso by Beverley Nichols

"I am equally convinced that Picasso, when he chooses,

can out-draw, out-paint and out-think

any artist in the world today.

"But most of all I am convinced that as long as I live

the prospect of mustaches growing out of violins

surrounded by decapitated frogs…

"will, for some occult reason,

fail to arouse in me the same pleasurable emotions

as are aroused by the sight of a spray of apple-blossom,

"or a face well painted,

or even an honest kitchen chair."

Beverley Nichols in

All That I Could Never Be

[I love this old green kitchen chair. We found it and its twin in the smokehouse when we bought this old farmhouse, abandoned furniture, not thought worthy of being moved by the sellers.  Cleaned up, they were the old "kitchen green" of the 1930s and are now treasured as the work of art they truly are. In lieu of apple blossoms, sprays of Pieris japonica adorn the old kitchen chair.]