The Enchanted April: Collins Classics

Born Mary Annette Beauchamp, Elizabeth von Armin (1866¿1941) was an English novelist best known for the semi-autobiographical dark comedy Vera (1921) and the historical romance The Enchanted April (1922). Armin's literary career would begin at the age of thirty-two, formally introducing herself to the world as "Elizabeth" with her debut satire Elizabeth and Her German Garden (1898); she would go on to produce over a dozen works of fiction over the course of forty years as well as a pseudo-autobiography All the Dogs in My Life (1936). In her personal life, Armin was also connected to several influential literary figures of the nineteenth and early twentieth century by either relation or sheer coincidence including Kathleen Mansfield, H.G. Wells, E.M. Forester and Hugh Walpole. With several of her works being adapted for both stage and screen (most notable being 1992's Academy Award-winning The Enchanted April) Armin's literary talent continues to delight and dazzle readers of the modern age.

Anchored within the lives of four very different women, this overtly potent novel is endemic of the era in which it was written, whilst simultaneously timeless and all transcending.