

Episode 272: Best of Series – “The Enchanted April” by Elizabeth von Arnim, Ch. 1-11
Beauty's Dual Nature Explored
- This book explores the tension between beauty as self-indulgence and as something necessary for the soul's happiness.
- The characters wrestle with whether beauty is wasteful or a vital part of life.
Author's Harsh Treatment of Tutors
- Elizabeth von Arnim hired E.M. Forster and Hugh Walpole as tutors but treated them badly, mocking Forster’s tie and Walpole’s pajamas.
- Both men left quickly due to her harsh and humiliating behavior.
Two Sides of Identity Struggle
- Mrs. Wilkins and Mrs. Arbuthnot embody two sides of the same struggle to find identity and recognition.
- Both women wrestle with feeling unseen or overly seen but not known authentically.






















Welcome back to The Literary Life podcast with Angelina Stanford, Cindy Rollins and Thomas Banks. This week we are bringing you another episode from the vault, this time part one of our series on The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim. Thomas gives some interesting biographical information about von Arnim, and Angelina shares some perspective on appreciating the art and the life of artist. Cindy highlights the fact that we see only caricatures of the women in England, and it isn’t until they get to Italy that we begin to see their real selves. Angelina also points out that all the women are on identity quests in this story. Angelina unpacks some of the metaphors in this book and the Dante-esque images, in addition to the key place beauty has in the story.
Don’t forget to sign up for this year’s Literary Life Online Conference coming up later this month! Register today for “Living Language: Why Words Matter” at HouseofHumaneLetters.com for full live or later access.
To view the full show notes for this episode, please visit our website at https://theliterary.life/282.