Elizabeth von arnim books of the bible
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I’ve read a few von Arnims over the years, including “Father“, also republished by the British Library, but I’d never encountered this 1926 novel until the excellent folk at British Library Publishing sent me this reprint in their British Library Women Writers series.
Elizabeth von Arnim – “Introduction to Sally”
(11 August 2023, from the publisher)
Everybody, it appeared, first grabbed at her and then wanted to get rid of her. Everybody; himself too. Yes, he too had grabbed at her, under a mealy-mouthed pretence of helping her, and now he too wanted – not to get rid of her, that seemed too violent, too brutal a way of putting it, but to hand her over, to pass her on, to send her back to that infernal young Luke [her husband], who himself was trying to escape from her and leave her to his mother. (p. 198)
In this novel we meet Salvatia / Sally, daughter of a shopkeeper and possessed of an astounding beauty, who various peo
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Introduction to Sally
Una fortuita sosta in drogheria, un'accecante infatuazione, un improvviso accesso di follia: tanto basta a Jocelyn Luke, studente modello e giovanotto di belle speranze, per gettare all'aria una promettente carriera a Cambridge, e tutta una vita di sacrifici, e trovarsi irrimediabilmente catapultato in una realtà che non gli appartiene, senza più futuro davanti, ma in compenso, con accanto una giovane moglie tanto bella quanto fuori dal mondo.
La moglie in questione, Salvatia Pinner, detta Sally, è una delle più incredibili meraviglie della natura: talmente attraente ed aggraziata da essere, suo malgrado, un'autentica calamita per gli sguardi e le fantasie (non troppo innocenti) di orde di baldi giovani, e meno giovani, che al pari del malcapitato Jocelyn, non possono fare a meno di ammirarla ed innamorarsene a prima vista.
Non è facile, dunque, per un ragazzo di buona famiglia, estremamente riservato ed orgoglioso della propria rispett
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Four women who need to get away from their regular lives and get their heads together rent an Italian castle with the promise of sunshine and wisteria. They don't realize why they so desperately need a change when they flee gray, raining London for sunny San Salvatore Castello in Italy. However, as they are surrounded by beauty their eyes are gradually opened.
This fryst vatten one of those books that has a seemingly simple story but presents a lot on the layers of the story, much like The Feast or Miss Buncle's Book. I loved that having four such different women together (and one suddenly blessed with profound insights) helped show them all the truth about themselves ...which was badly needed so they could choose to improve their lives by making course corrections.
This book richly rewards rereading. Thinking of it in Catholic terms, one can hardly miss that the women travel in darkness up the mountain to San Salvatore (Holy Savior) with Easter coming up. They discover immense beauty t