Thus begins Elizabeth von Arnim's delightful companion to the famous Elizabeth and Her German Garden, a witty, lyrical account of a rejuvenating summer. Descriptions of magnificent larkspurs and burning nasturtiums give way to those of cooling forest walks - and of clambering up the mud bank when the miller is not in view. Rainy days prompt a little philanthropy, until the sun returns Elizabeth to the refuge of her beloved plants. Yet the months are not as solitary as she'd planned: there is the Man of Wrath to pacify and the April, May and June babies to play with. Here, with the pleasing astringency for which she is noted, Elizabeth von Arnim returns to the heroine and garden she immortalized.
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