Enchanted April

Or whatever name you want to call this author...

Born in Australia in 1866 and raised in England as Mary Annette Beauchamp, Elizabeth von Arnim was originally called Mary, but after publication of her novels gradually came to be known, even by her family, by her pen-name Elizabeth. Through her marriages she became first Gräfin (Countess) von Arnim-Schlagenthin then, later, Countess Russell. Just to keep things interesting, she also wrote under the name Alice Cholmondeley.

Like many writers, she started writing because she needed the emotional outlet - and the cash. When her first husband (whom she called the "Man of Wrath") was thrown in jail for fraud, she wrote her first semi-autobiographical novel, Elizabeth and her German Garden (1898), publishing it anonymously.

Her love life never got much simpler. After Count von Arnim died in 1910, Elizabeth married John Francis Stanley Russell, 2nd Earl Russell, elder brother of Bertrand Russell, but that marriage also went sour. Supposedly, from 1910 until 1913 she was a mistress of the novelist H.G. Wells. In 1919 Elizabeth fled her marriage and any other romantic entanglements for the United States, but she never divorced. In 1920 she began an affair with British publisher Alexander Reeves, who was almost 30 years younger. When he later married, he named his daughter Elizabeth. Elizabeth von Arnim died in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1941.

Von Arnim wrote another 20 books, all "By the author of Elizabeth and Her German Garden."

(A side note - Elizabeth von Arnim was cousin to writer Katherine Mansfield... whose picture sometimes gets switched for hers. Identity issues for sure!)

Enchanted April was first adapted for the Broadway stage in 1925.

In 2003 a new stage play by Matthew Barber was nominated for a Tony Award. The original Broadway cast included: Jayne Atkinson, Molly Ringwald, Dagmara Dominczyk, Elizabeth Ashley, Michael Cumpsty, Daniel Gerroll, Michael Hayden, and Patricia Conolly.

(The WaterTower Theatre play I designed the set for was the Dallas regional production of this 2003 adaptation.)

And in March of 2010, Enchanted April: A Lyrical New Musical, with book and lyrics written by Charles Leipart and music by Richard B. Evans, was previewed at the Chelsea Studios in New York City.

When staying in Chicago, I discovered this brand of herbal bath powder at the wonderful Merz Apothocary.

Merz carries fascinating products, but my favorite are these bath powders by Dresdner, which makes a range of scents. My favorites are lavender, orange-linden blossom, chamomile... All great.

You won't need the full package (I get about four baths from each.) And they turn the bathwater startlingly rich colors! (But don't stain.)