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Elizabeth and Her German Garden

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Elizabeth and Her German Garden

By: Elizabeth von Arnim
Narrated by: Nadia May
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About this listen

 Indoors are servants, meals, and furniture. There, too, is The Man of Wrath, her upright Teutonic husband, inspiring in Elizabeth a mixture of irritation, affection, and irreverence. But outside she can escape domestic routine, read favorite books, play with her three babies and garden to her heart's content. Through Elizabeth's eyes we watch the seasons, from May's "oasis of bird-cherries and greenery" to the time when "snow carpets her Pomeranian wilderness". And each season brings with it new events as friends and neighbors come and go, all wonderfully recorded with Elizabeth's uniquely witty pen.(P)2000 Blackstone Audiobooks Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Funny Witty Heartfelt Feel-Good German Garden

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Critic reviews

"Rarely is there a book that when read once, one wishes to start rereading right away. Here is one. Elizabeth's memoir is read with elan and obvious relish by Nadia May." ( AudioFile)
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Tongue in cheek manners satire. I will definitely listen again to extract my favourite quotes (e.g. on Foreigners).
I found the pauses between lines a little irritating- but maybe the text was printed this way, I have only listened to the book.

Satire of its time

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"Elizabeth and Her German Garden" is another charming, hilarious, beautifully written work by Elizabeth von Armin and one of my favourite books of recent years. I was laughing and chuckling as I listened and was surprised by how current and relatable many of the author's observations are. Despite knowing absolutely nothing about gardening, I revelled in the descriptions of plants, gardening strategies, scenery and especially weather. A delicious treat of a book!

I LOVED every word of this beautiful book!

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The book is so funny and lovely and the narration is first class. I have thoroughly enjoyed this book.

A great book narrated beautifully

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it's not enchanted April, but it is lovely, and Nadia May is a bit of a genius. good stuff.

lovely

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Maggie

Being a gardener born of German parents this brought me a smile of recognition in every chapter. What delight to plan the huge plantations, to skirt around the immovable German traditions and to beat the Man of Wrath at his own game!

A wonderful insightful description of gardening and German life

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A delightful listen, relaxing, and amusing.
So good to hear a woman making Independant decisions.

Charming story

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If you need cheering up and are a gardener this witty charming book will lift your spirits

UTTERLY WONDERFUL

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The account of Elizabeth's garden, her joy in it, her sharp-eyed humour, all set in a time long-past, held together by a truly gifted narrator.

lovely story superbly narrated

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This is not a very long book, but nevertheless a very pleasant look back to a more leisured lifestyle, and the frustrations and rewards of creating of a garden. Perfect bedtime listening, and with a first class narrator.

Delightful view of times gone by

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This was a very interesting book to listen to, but I think the description and the glowing reviews do not completely paint the whole picture. So I will add some observations.

Yes, it's a lovely book about gardening. It also has some VERY funny and witty moments and sentences. It is well written and reasonably well narrated. However, it is also a historical document written by a deeply entitled and spoiled woman. The people working around her estate are treated horribly; she thinks of them as halfwits. They are simply not 'human' to her. The disdain dripping from her upper class perch is hard to take in places. Animals are not treated well either. The Man of Wrath (her husband) is extremely unpleasant and delights in speaking about hitting women so that they'll know their place. Most of the latter half of the book is the writer and her best friend mocking a young woman who is staying with them for a few weeks. It is hardly about gardening at all anymore once she arrives.

All in all, this book is of interest for gardening enthousiasts who like some historical insight. Though funny in a sardonic way, Elisabeth is vey much a product of her time and class. I'm not really sure why some reviews describe this book as some tale about 'leisurely times'. To me it seems more like a document about horrific working conditions. How awful it must have been to work at that estate, commanded by a rich woman who thought she was above you just because of her accident of birth. Who gossips with her friend and gardens a bit, and somehow thinks this makes her more worthy or interesting than the workers who have minds like 'children' according to her. It's also telling that she does not do any of the actual gardening work. That is left for the men doing backbreaking labor and the women who are told to get back to work a day (sometimes hours!) after giving birth, because 'they are used to it and are simple creatures who experience these things differently than us'. Elizabeth basically just does the planning, and the purchasing of new plants. Then she walks around in the garden, pointing out things that need to be changed and entertaining guests.

Conclusion: it's not a relaxing tale about gardening at all. However, I did find it interesting as a historical document. I did like the (sometimes very catty) wit and the prose is quite good. So I don't rate it very low. But be aware that if you are looking for a lovely tale about gardens this might not be it.

The sound editing leaves in a lot of 'inhaling air before the next sentence' type of sounds, so if that is something you are sensitive to, beware.

Timecapsule, enjoy it for what it is.

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