"May scorched and withered; March was restless, and could be hard and cold in its brightness; but April came along softly like a blessing, and if it were a fine April it was so beautiful that it was impossible not to feel different, not to feel stirred and touched."
The Enchanted April offers a gentle, introspective story about four English women—strangers to one another—who decide to escape their unfulfilling lives and spend a month together in a medieval castle in Italy. Set in the 1920s, shortly after World War I, the novel explores themes of love, loneliness, and healing, all wrapped in the warm and fragrant atmosphere of an Italian spring.
“that anybody would quarrel about anything when they’ve not left off being together for a single day for two whole years. What we both need is a holiday.”
The premise is charming and simple: Mrs. Wilkins and Mrs. Arbuthnot, two rather ordinary and unhappy mediocore housewives in London, come across an advertisement for a castle available for rent in Italy. Longing for peace and beauty, they impulsively decide to share the cost—and the experience—with two other women: Lady Caroline, a glamorous socialite weary of constant attention and shallow relationships, and Mrs. Fisher, a conservative elderly widow clinging to the values of the Victorian era.
