Enchanted April

A charming Italian castle holds the key to happiness for four English women in this classic by the author of Elizabeth and Her German Garden. It begins on a rainy London afternoon in February. Four ladies, whose only common trait is dissatisfaction with life, answer an ad placed in the advice column of The Times. Addressed "e;To Those Who Appreciate Wistaria and Sunshine,"e; it offers the opportunity to rent a fully-furnished medieval Italian castle in Portofino along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea for the month of April servants included. A peaceful holiday is all the ladies are expecting, but the sunny warmth of the Italian spring is about to change their lives . . . "e;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."e; The Times Literary Supplement "e;[A] restful, funny, sumptuous, and invigorating vacation for the mind and soul."e; 500 Great Books by Women "e;[A]n expression of the propensity of people to be blind to the real secret of happiness, and . . . how exquisitely men and women get upon each other's nerves and how they suffer from each other's egos."e; National Review "e;Lyrical . . . Dry, delicious humor . . . An April does not satisfy my greedy heart. I want all year."e; Smart Bitches, Trashy Books