The marriage ended in disaster, with Elizabeth escaping to the United States and the couple finally agreeing, in 1919, to get a divorce.

Von Arnim wrote another 20 books, which were all published 'By the author of Elizabeth and Her German Garden'.Ĭount von Arnim died in 1910, and in 1916 Elizabeth married John Francis Stanley Russell, 2nd Earl Russell, Bertrand Russell's elder brother. In 1898 she started her literary career by publishing Elizabeth and Her German Garden, a semi-autobiographical novel about a rural idyll published anonymously and, as it turned out to be highly successful, reprinted 21 times within the first year. The children's tutors at Nassenheide included E. The couple had five children, four daughters and a son. They married in London but lived in Berlin and eventually moved to the countryside where, in Nassenheide, Pomerania, the von Arnims had their family estate. She had met von Arnim during an Italian tour with her father. (Summary by Wikipedia)įor further information, including links to online text, reader information, RSS feeds, CD cover or other formats (if available), please go to the LibriVox catalog page for this recording.įor more free audio books or to become a volunteer reader, visit, Countess Russell, was a British novelist and, through marriage, a member of the German nobility, known as Mary Annette Gräfin von Arnim.īorn Mary Annette Beauchamp in Sydney, Australia, she was raised in England and in 1891 married Count Henning August von Arnim, a Prussian aristocrat, and the great-great-great-grandson of King Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia. It is noteworthy for being published without a named author. She looked down upon the frivolous fashions of her time writing 'I believe all needlework and dressmaking is of the devil, designed to keep women from study.' The book is the first in a series about the same character. It includes commentary on the beauty of nature and on society, but is primarily humorous due to Elizabeth's frequent mistakes and her idiosyncratic outlook on life.

The story is a year's diary written by the protagonist Elizabeth about her experiences learning gardening and interacting with her friends. LibriVox recording of Elizabeth and her German Garden, by Elizabeth von Arnim.Įlizabeth and Her German Garden is a novel by Elizabeth von Arnim, first published in 1898 it was very popular and frequently reprinted during the early years of the 20th century.

Elizabeth and her german garden book