Jennifer has become enchanted with April. Wait, no, that's not quite right. She's over the moon about a book she just discovered entitled The Enchanted April. Yeah, that's it. This book has been around for 100 years, but it just now made it onto Jennifer's reading list and she's now wondering where it has been all her life. Written by Elizabeth Von Arnim and inspired by her stay in 1920 at Castello Brown, a beautiful Mediterranean fortress in Portofino, Italy, The Enchanted April was published in 1922. It was a dreamy, satisfying read--and a film adaptation from the early 1990s is even better! It's so hard to find a book (even though there are literally millions available with the click of a mouse), Jennifer is doing us a favor by assigning us this read. In tonight's show she explores the author, the magical "castello" (castle) that inspired her, and introduces the main characters. Jennifer has promised not to spoil the details of the story, or the ending, and while she skirts the boundaries of spoilerville, she doesn't quite cross the line. Also in tonight's show is a song sure to lodge in your brain like an ear worm--even though it's in Italian. Come along as we journey to Portofino for one unforgettable April.
Show Links
The Enchanted April Audiobook Read by Helen Taylor
Luncheon Scene from the film The Enchanted April
Castello Brown Website
Circa 19xx Land
Jennifer has become enchanted with April. Wait, no, that's not quite right. She's over the moon about a book she just discovered entitled The Enchanted April. Yeah, that's it. This book has been around for 100 years, but it just now made it onto Jennifer's reading list and she's now wondering where it has been all her life. Written by Elizabeth Von Arnim and inspired by her stay in 1920 at Castello Brown, a beautiful Mediterranean fortress in Portofino, Italy, The Enchanted April was published in 1922. It was a dreamy, satisfying read--and a film adaptation from the early 1990s is even better! It's so hard to find a book (even though there are literally millions available with the click of a mouse), Jennifer is doing us a favor by assigning us this read. In tonight's show she explores the author, the magical "castello" (castle) that inspired her, and introduces the main characters. Jennifer has promised not to spoil the details of the story, or the ending, and while she skirts the boundaries of spoilerville, she doesn't quite cross the line. Also in tonight's show is a song sure to lodge in your brain like an ear worm--even though it's in Italian. Come along as we journey to Portofino for one unforgettable April.
Show Links
The Enchanted April Audiobook Read by Helen Taylor
Luncheon Scene from the film The Enchanted April
Castello Brown Website
Circa 19xx Land
CSN #29 Script: For Your Reading List: The Enchanted April
Cold Open
In tonight’s show I’m offering you a get-away that is something out of a dream. Close your eyes and imagine it: an escape to a warm, beautiful, exotic location, a journey that takes you away from yourself, that gives you a rare chance to step into the current of an entirely different life with new people, new vistas, and TIME: time to think, time to reflect, time to get clarity, time to plan. What if you had the chance to begin again, to freshen your outlook or to rediscover love?
Let’s stretch our imaginations further and picture a classified ad about a place in which to live that dream. The ad reads like this:
“To those who appreciate wistaria and sunshine. Small medieval Italian castle on the shores of the Mediterranean to be let, furnished, for the month of April. Necessary servants remain.”
Contact Z box 1000 The Times.
[Sigh] Yes, sign me up. Well, this is the holiday on which Elizabeth Von Arnim’s wonderful book, The Enhanted April is based. This book is a hundred years old, but I just read it—and, I’m over the moon about it. So, you know what that means? Yeah, I have to talk about it. Somebody que up the music so we can get started.
[theme song.]
Introduction
Hello there! Welcome! I’m so glad you’re here to keep me company. Or wait…are you keeping me company…or am I keeping you company? Earlier this week I got the nicest message from a listener in Grand Prairie, Texas (hi, Ellery!). She said that she found this show by accident—and honestly, if you are listening to this show, that’s exactly how you have to find it. I don’t know how to promote it. How I have any listeners at all is amazing. Anyway, Ellery told me she found the show and started listening to episodes while she does craft projects. Ellery, I don’t know what kind of craft projects you does, but I’m so glad I can be that voice in the room to do those projects right along with you. And I’m glad that you found the show.
You know what this show is like? This show is like the last episode of the Twilight Zone from the 1960s. That episode is called “The Bewitchin Pool.” In that episode these two kids dive into the deep end of their swimming pool in the backyard, and when they swim back up to the surface, they find that they aren’t in their pool at all, but have somehow entered a portal that brought them to a magical land presided over by an elderly woman. Now, in this analogy, Circa Sunday Night is the magical land—a land you just come upon by surprise. And so I guess that would make me the elderly woman.
Suddenly I don’t like this analogy.
[Musical interlude]
And now for my plea for help…please share this show with someone you think might like it, who might need a little joy and light-heartedness—and also likes old stuff from the early 20th century. If you listen to the show on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or any of the other podcast platforms and know how to leave a five-star review, wow, that would mean the world to me. As you know, if you joined me last time, I don’t have any idea how to leave a five-star review. But if you know how…well you must be a genius.
Hey, and did you know you can also listen to season 3 episodes out on YouTube? It’s true! I started a Youtube channel in January. It would be awesome to grow that channel—although I have no idea how to do that. Yeah, basically, I don’t know how to do much in the world of podcasting. And yet, here we are.
Hey, speaking of Youtube, let’s check out the channel and see what kind of subscriber growth we’re seeing out there. Give me a second here to pull it up. Ok, we’re at five subscribers. How many did we have two weeks ago? I think we had five. So, we’re holding steady. Oh, and you know what…I actually think I’m one of the subscribers. Am I? Wait…yeah, I think I subscribed.
What can I say? I’m the president of my own fan club.
[music interlude]
Well, I’m going to be honest with you, the last couple of weeks have been rough. Yeah. I mean, there’s a lot of serious things happening in the world that are causing great sorrow. So much has happened since our last episode. Goodness. My friend’s mom passed away a couple of weeks ago, and then just a couple of days ago a much-loved coworker passed away, too. There have been some dark days lately. I leaned on a lot of prayer, and I also tried to get my mind on other things that weren’t so heavy.
You know what I ended up doing? Should I admit this? I binge-watched the Lifetime show, “Kim of Queens.” Yes, I did. I did. Do you know that show? I think it’s an old show from several years ago, but it’s out on Youtube. It stars Kim Gravel—a woman I actually know from QVC. I LOVE her on QVC. I will actually stop what I’m doing just to watch her. She’s so funny and down to earth, and she has just a big heart. But before she was selling a clothing line on QVC she was helping young girls win beauty pageants, and had a pageant coaching business called “The Pageant Place” in Atlanta, Georgia. That’s what the show was about. I was totally hooked. It just got my mind completely off of everything going on.
I have to tell you about this one episode in particular. Kim was getting the girls ready to enter a pageant in which they were going to need to answer interview questions on stage. Well, this was completely beyond the girls’ comfort zone, so she decided to give them an assignment that totally intrigued me and terrified me. Each girl had to approach a complete stranger on the street, engagement them in conversation, and keep them engaged for one minute.
Now, as an introvert, the prospect of doing that just gives me chills. If I’m in a work setting, or a setting in which I have a defined role, I’m good. I can I do all the talking you could ever want. But the idea of just out of nowhere approaching strangers and get them talking—NO. I’ll take a root canal instead, please.
But…aside from all that, isn’t that an fascinating assignment? Just approach a stranger and try to keep them talking for a minute? What do you think? Would you be up for it? I dare you to do it! Just imagine what could happen.
Now my extroverts out there are losing their minds right now. “Talk to strangers for one minute? Jennifer, that’s child’s play. Give me something hard to do.” Oh, it takes all sorts to move the world, doesn’t it?
[Music.]
Ok, I am about to do you a favor: I’m going to introduce you to an author, a book, and a movie that you may have never heard of before—and when we’re done, you’ll have something really wonderful to add to your reading list. I don’t know about you, but I’m always looking for something good to read. With all the books in the world—and, I mean, how many books must there be? Millions? Billions? And finding a good one is as hard as finding a great outfit in your won closet. You know, you never have anything to wear, right? Well, finding a good book is like that. You have to read 20 books to find the one that whisks you away, makes you think, EDIFIES you. “Edify” is to instruct or improve morally or intellectually. I love it when a book can do that and be entertaining. Well, our book tonight, The Enchanted April, isn’t a weighty tome that you have to slog through. It’s light, and airy, and dreamy—just what the doctor ordered, right?
Tonight I’m going to talk a bit about the book, The Enchanted April, as well as the 1991 film adaptation by the same name. I read the book first, then went immediately to Amazon to watch the film. The book was really good—and the film was BETTER! Yeah, a lot of times film adaptations are not very good at all, but I am actually thinking of buying the film so I can watch it when I need a little break from reality.
Do people even buy movies anymore? I don’t, normally—but that’s how much I loved this one.
Ok, so here’s the plan: I want to start with an introduction to Elizabeth Von Arnim—who she was and what inspired her to write The Enchanted April. Then I want to share with you a little more detail about the premise of the story and also introduce you to the characters. I’m going to show some restraint here and not give away the ending, because I don’t want to spoil the joy of this story for you. But I do want to share with you some things that I took away from this story.
Now, we haven’t taken a spin in the old time machine for a couple of episodes, so what do you say we do that tonight?
Ok, here, let me slide in and make some room… We have to buckle up. Click it or ticket…I’m going to dial up—oh, you’re going to love this—the very lovely seaside town of Portofino, Italy. This is where we are going to find Elizabeth Von Arnim vacationing and writing in the year 1920. Off we go!
[Time machine and music].
Oh, my. Take a look at this place. We are in what looks like an ancient room—beautifully but simply furnished—stone walls, a fireplace, a bed with four posts, and chairs that are worn and aged, but lovely and comfortable. The window is open, and a sheer curtain billows in and out with a light breeze. By the window is a little writing desk with a dainty vase of flowers on it. Seated there, and staring out the window to the sea beyond, is Elizabeth Von Arnim. She isn’t writing at the moment, but she has been; she’s holding a pen in her hand, and there are scribbles on the sheet of paper before her. This beautiful place is inspiring. How could she NOT write about it?
This is the castle Castello Brown, a magical setting, and Elizabeth is vacationing here.
What can we really know out about this dreamy “castello” or castle? Well, quite a bit, actually. You can go there even in our time. It’s a museum now, and can be rented out as event space. Here’s a brief history from the Castello Brown website (yes, you can go there in our time.
The name "Castello Brown" derives from Montague Yeats Brown, English consul in Genoa and owner of the building from 1867 to 1905, but its origins date back to the Middle Ages when the Genoese erected it, in a dominant position on the sea to defend the Gulf of Portofino.
Over the centuries it has undergone several renovations and enlargement works by prominent people and people historical significance such as Gian Maria Oliato and Napoleone Bonaparte. In 1867, the English Consul Brown bought the Fortress and in 1870 he planted on the main terrace, himself for his wedding day, the two famous pines that have dominated the town from above for years, becoming symbols and distinctive elements of the Castle. The Consul died in 1905, bequeathing the Castle to his sons, who guarded it until 1949, giving it to the Baber family, and over time transforming this military fortress into a civil residence.
In 1961 the Municipality of Portofino bought the Castle from the Baber family, starting to use its spaces to host different types of public and private events.
The setting of this place is really something. The town of Portofino is one of the most picturesque in all of Europe (of course there are many picturesque towns in Europe, so that could be said of a lot of places there). I visited Portofino 20 years ago on a three-week tour of Italy, but back then I knew nothing of Castello Brown, so I didn’t go there. (Darn it! Had I only known, I would have climbed up there if it took me a full day to get there. Well, you can’t go everywhere, I guess). I don’t remember seeing it—but I must have. In the pictures it seems hard to miss, as it is a big fortress high above the town.
So picture this: we have an old stone fortress, spectacular views of the ocean and the village in the distance, and an incredible Mediterranean garden. This is the setting in which Elizabeth Von Arnim wrote The Enchanted April, only she didn’t call the castle “Castello Brown.” She called it “San Salvatore.”
I want to skip to the book now for a brief description that Von Arnim wrote of this setting. One of the characters, a Mrs. Wilkins, arrived at San Salvatore at night in a rain storm, and because it was dark and stormy, and because to get to San Salvatore she had to climb a steep path—again in the dark with lush growth all around—she didn’t really see what it looked like. She awakes the next morning and the sun is shining, and she sees how beautiful it is for the first time.
I’m taking this clip from a wonderful audiobook recording in the public domain that I’ll link to in the shownotes. The reader is Helen Taylor. Ok, let’s discover San Salvatore along with Mrs. Wilkins:
[Clip from book].
I’m there. I’m totally there. Well, anyway, this is the setting in which Elizabeth Von Arnim wrote The Enchanted April. Now, was this her first book? No. And while you may not be familiar with Von Arnim (I wasn’t, by the way, until I read Enchanted April), she moved within a literary orbit. She was a cousin of the famous New Zealand writer Katherine Mansfield, and she had a lengthy affair with the writer H.G. Wells. Here’s a brief biography of Von Arnim from the edition I have of The Enchanted April with the introduction by Brenda Bowen:
Elizabeth Von Arnim was born in Sydney, Australia in 1866. Her family returned to England three years later, and she spent the rest of her childhood there. In 1889 she went on a tour of Italy with her father and met count Henning August Von Arnim-Schlagenthin, a widowed Prussian aristocrat 15 years her senior. The couple married in 1891 and moved to Germany, living at first in Berlin and later in Pomerania. They had four daughters and a son together, but the marriage became increasingly strained.
Von Arnim began her literary career in 1898, with the semiautobiographical Elizabeth and her German Garden, which was well received and became a bestseller. She went on to write an additional 21 books, including Vera in 1921 and, of course, the Enchanted April in 1922. She also enjoyed success as a playwright. She returned to England in 1908, and her husband died two years later. During this time she began an affair with HG wells that lasted for three years.
In 1916, after the death of her 17 year old daughter in Germany, Von Arnim married John Francis Stanley Russell, second Earl Russell. The marriage was an unhappy one and she left her husband in 1919. Subsequently she lived in London, Switzerland, and France, and continued to write. She moved to the United states at the start of World War Two and died of influenza and Charleston, South Carolina.
OK, so we know a little something about Elizabeth Von Arnim and the beautiful setting in which she wrote—and set—her book, The Enchanted April. Now let’s dive into the story.
[Music]
I am not going to go into the entire story, because I don’t want to ruin it for you. This is a book I’m going to urge you to read—and then once you read the book, you’re going to want to make a beeline to Amazon to check out the movie. There were actually a few adaptations of this book. Back in 1925 it was made into a Broadway play. In 1935 it was made into a movie, but that 1935 version is not the one to see. It’s the 1992 film that’s for us. I’ll talk about that one a bit later.
So, while I won’t tell you the whole story—although, you know how I am. I’m dying to go all the way, here. Control yourself, Jennifer. OK, but I can give you the premise, and also introduce you to the characters.
The premise is simple: Two pretty young wives who have been married for several years, have grown dissatisfied with their lives. They are not sure they love their husbands any more—well, wait—they do love their husbands, but their relationships have grown stale and they are not quite sure their husbands love them. Routine has set in, and boredom, and disappointment, and that’s where we find them. We have Rose Arbuthnot, whose husband is a writer of scandalous biographies, and Lotty Wilkins, whose husband is a solicitor. Neither of these ladies know each other, but they do go to the same church, and they are brought together when they both see an ad in the paper. This is the ad I read in our cold open tonight. Here it is again:
“To those who appreciate wistaria and sunshine. Small medieval Italian castle on the shores of the Mediterranean to be let, furnished, for the month of April. Necessary servants remain.”
When they see this ad, it is a cold, rainy, dreary day that just underscores where they feel they are in their lives at this point. Dreary. They haven’t seen the sun for days. So when they see this ad, they begin dreaming about this castle and sunshine and wisteria.
Rose is more reserved and conservative. If left on her own, the dream would have just remained a dream. But Lotty can’t let this go. But she also knows this is something she can’t do by herself, and she doesn’t want her husband to come. She has some money saved up—but not enough to do this by herself. Also, this is scary, right? To just pick up and leave for a month to travel to another country by yourself. So when she spots Rose reading the ad, she pounces on her and convinces her to do this with her. Remember, they’re strangers up to this point. Already we have the makings of quite an adventure: two young women, not yet friends—barely acquaintances—heading off to a mysterious castle in Italy.
Alright, so we’ve met two principal characters. Rose Arbuthnot and Lotty Wilkins. What are these ladies like? Rose is very serious, very sad. She’s beautiful, but wears a sad expression. She’s compared in the book to a painting in San Salvatore of a Madonna. Lotty is a dreamer. In fact, she gets a sense about things that haven’t yet happened. She “sees” things as they will be. She tells Lotty at one point that if you wish hard enough for things they’ll happen.
Lotty talks Rose into doing this thing—but here’s the problem: they can’t afford it. Ah, man. Isn’t that always the way? You get this awesome idea, and then find you don’t have the money to make it happen. But, they get an idea: San Salvatore has six bedrooms. They’ll advertise for a couple of ladies to join them. Surprisingly, only 2 people respond. One was an old woman, Mrs. Fisher, who once knew all the great literary figures of her day and now a widow, wants only to go somewhere and “remember.” The other was a young woman, Lady Caroline, an aristocrat who is so beautiful that men are constantly pursuing her. Now, that’s what I call a good problem to have, right? Not so, according to her. She just wants to go off on her own where no one knows her and she won’t be bothered. She also wants to get her life together. She’s 28, unmarried, and not so very happy.
There are other characters that are important: The husbands: Mellersh Wilkins and Frederick Arbuthnot, and also George Briggs, the owner of the castle. He plays a rather interesting role in the story.
So, there’s the premise. We have a small group of lonely, unhappy people that have come together from various walks of life to spend the month of April together in a picturesque medieval castle. Oh, my, can you think of something better to do in April?
Sigh…OK, I am totally wanting to go further with the story, but I’m going to stop myself right here so I don’t ruin it for you. We’re going to take a little musical break, and when we come out the other side, I want to say a few words about the 1992 film, The Enchanted April—which is “enchanting,” by the way.
Ok, so what are we going to hear…ah, we’ve got a little tune that’s from around the same era as when Elizabeth Von Arnim was writing at Castello Brown. Oh, wait. This is from the early 1930s. I said Von Arnim was at Castello Brown in the early 20s, didn’t I? Ok, well we’re only a decade off. This is coming to us from Dino Olivieri, a Milan-based composer and orchestra conductor born in 1905 and…when did he die? Ah, 1963. This is a fun little pop tune called “Dormiglioni,” which is Sleepyhead in Italian.
[Music – “Dormiglioni.”]
Isn’t that a cute song? This version was recorded in Italy, but it was also a hit in the States for The Mills Brothers back in 1934.
I have to tell you the lyrics because their just so cute. And because I speak perfect Italian, I can translate them for you. No, even though I AM Italian, I don’t speak a word. Isn’t that sad? OK, well, here’s what the gentleman in our recording sings:
Sleepy Head, come on, get out of bed.
Ain't you heard the rooster crow? Must've been a week ago,
Good-for-nothing Sleepy Head.
Sleepy Head, see the sun so bright and red?
He's been up and ridin' high, but you just let the time go by,
Good-for-nothing Sleepy Head.
Sleepy Head, I'd take away that bed,
But you are such a lazy pup, you'd be sleeping standing up,
Good-for-nothing Sleepy Head.
Sleepy Head, underworked and over fed,
Gonna sleep the day away, "But this is such a sleepy day,
"I wanna be a Sleep - y Head."
Sleepy Head, got to get you out of bed;
"You just stand around and shout until you get me tuckered out,
I'm bound to be a Sleepy Head."
Super cute. The melody was written by William Donaldson with lyrics by Gus Kahn, and recorded here by Dino Olivieri and his band. The singer was a gentleman by the name of Renzo Mori. I know nothing about him at all, and couldn’t find any information on him. His is lost to the mists of time, and only his name and his voice remain. So it goes here in Circa 19xx Land.
OK, let’s head back to Castello Brown. Now, you might be thinking ‘wow, that sounds like such a wonderful, magical place—I wish I could see it.’ Well, have I got news for you! You can!
The 1992 film, The Enchanted April, was shot on location at Castello Brown! And yes, it is dreamy! Yet another reason to see this film.
You know how a lot of times you’ll read a book, then watch a film adaptation, and you’re left with a feeling of disappointment that the book just isn’t as good? In this case, I actually liked the film better than the book—although, as I’ve said, I liked both.
So, what do we know about this film? Well, it stars Josie Lawrence as Lottie Wilkins, Miranda Richardson as Rose Arbuthnot, Polly Walker as Lady Caroline Dester, and Joan Plowright as Mrs. Fisher. It received three Academy Award nominations: One for best costume design. Yes, this is a period film, so we get to see some awesome 1920s fashions. One for best screenplay, and one for best supporting actress for Joan Plowright. It was nominated for a Golden Globe for best picture—musical or comedy—which is weird, because it’s neither. But Miranda Richardson did win a Golden Globe for best actress and Joan Plowright won a Golden Globe for best supporting actress.
I want to play a scene from the film for you that involves all four of our ladies. In this clip we get to learn something about their personalities. Let me set this up for you: It’s time for luncheon. Old, crotchety Mrs. Fisher is on time, at the dinner table ready to eat, but the others are late. She asks the house made to ring the gong to summon them. Lady Caroline is out in the garden lounging about—she wants nothing to do with any of them. Rose and Lotty, who want everyone to be friends, have gone after her.
[Film Clip 1]
Ah, the old ‘headache’ routine. Rose takes her at her word, but Lotty’s instinct tells her that Lady Caroline just wants to be left alone.
Now Rose and Lotty have joined Mrs. Fisher in the dining room and they are eating lunch. This is actually a cute scene because Rose and Lotty are trying to eat spaghetti, but they don’t know how—never having eaten it before, and it’s a clumsy business. Rose is still worrying about Caroline’s headache. Here’s how the conversation goes.
[Film Clip 2]
Yeah, I know it’s hard to get this film in an audio only clip. But we can see here that Caroline is aloof, Mrs. Fisher has become hardened in her old age through loneliness, Rose wants desperately to be helpful and doesn’t know how, and Lotty can read people and has faith in the magic of San Salvatore to restore people.
Here’s what great about his film: It follows the book really closely. In fact, I only remember one significant deviation from the book—and it was an effective choice. In the film Mr. Briggs, the owner of San Salvatore, is depicted in the film as very near-sighted. He can’t see details well. That’s not so in the book. I actually think this was a brilliant little addition—and I won’t explain why this is significant because it plays a role in the ending. So, the ending in both the book and the film is the same—but this little addition of the eyesight thing ties things up beautifully.
So, why did I love this story—aside from the really appealing premise of these ladies going off to Italy and the beautiful setting? First and foremost it’s a buddy story. I love buddy stories. Rose and Lotty become really close friends—but actually all of the ladies do. It’s about heartache and reconciliation and the necessity of community. It also affirms marriage and how beautiful it is. And speaking of that, there is an important tie in the story between beauty and love. At one point Lady Caroline comes to this realization when she thinks to herself that ‘love makes you beautiful.’
Let’s go back to the audiobook again for a second. I love this exchange between Lotty and Lady Caroline as they are talking about the relationship between Rose and her husband. In this clip, Lady Caroline is called by her nickname, Scrap. This is Helen Taylor reading again:
[Clip]
Lotty is a transformation agent in this story. She has an effect on people, a friend to the friendless, a light in the world. I love that aspect of the story, too.
OK, as we wrap up, I want to give you a spoiler alert. I want to play one last clip from the audiobook. This one comes at the very end—and while it doesn’t give the ending of the story away, it does describe one final glimpse of San Salvatore, and I want to share it here because it’s just such a beautiful description.
[Clip].
That seems like a good place to leave us. Yeah, let’s just stay here in this moment, why don’t we? Oh, if only we could.
Hey, thanks for joining me for this episode. Don’t forget to share this episode with someone who needs some company. Also, if you happen to go out to Youtube and are listening to the show from there, please consider subscribing to the channel. I’m feeling kind of lonely out there! And if you give this episode a thumbs up, wow, would that make my day.
So, here we are. Another work week ahead, but Spring is on the way, the grass is greening up, and Friday will be here before we know it. Have a great week, and I’ll see you soon.
[theme song]