I have become a little obsessed with Elizabeth von Armin in recent times.
A few facts:
She was born August 31, 1866 in Kirribilli, Sydney, Australia and died on the 9th February, 1941 in Charleston, South Carolina.
Her birth name was Mary Annette Beauchamp, and her family nickname was May.
Her first marriage was to German Count Henning August von Arnim-Schlagenthin in Florence in 1889, making her a Countess.
Their children were:
- Eva Sophie Luise Anna Felicitas (called Evi) was born in Berlin on 8th December 1889.
- Elisabeth Irene (Liebet) born on the 15th February, 1893.
- Beatrix Edith (called Trix) born on 3rd of April, 1894.
- Felicitas Joyce was born in London on the 29th of July, 1899 and died on the 3rd of June, 1916 in Bremen
- Henning Bernd (H. B.) was born in London on the 27th of on October, 1902.
Henning died on the 20th of August, 1910
Her second marriage was to John Francis Stanley Russell (Frank), 2nd Earl Russell, on the 11th of February, 1916, making her Countess Russell. The marriage only lasted briefly, with Elizabeth leaving for good in March 1919. Frank died on the died on 3rd of March, 1931.
She emigrated to the USA in May 1939.
Her ashes were interred in the St Margaret’s Tylers Green cemetery, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire next to her brother Sydney.
- Elizabeth and Her German Garden (1898)
- The Solitary Summer (1899)
- April Baby’s Book of Tunes (1900)
- The Benefactress (1901)
- The Adventures of Elizabeth in Rugen (1904)
- Princess Priscilla’s Fortnight (1905)
- Fräulein Schmidt and Mr Anstruther (1907)
- The Caravaners (1909)
- The Pastor’s Wife (1914)
- Christine (1917) (published as Alice Cholmondeley)
- Christopher and Columbus (1919)
- In the Mountains (1920)
- Vera (1921)
- The Enchanted April (1922)
- Love (1925)
- Introduction to Sally (1926)
- Expiation (1929)
- Father (1931)
- The Jasmine Farm (1934)
- All the Dogs of My Life (1936)
- Mr. Skeffington (1940)
Biographies:
- Elizabeth of the German Garden | Leslie de Charms (1958)
- Elizabeth the Author of Elizabeth and Her German Garden | Karen Usborne (1986)
- Elizabeth of the German Garden – A Literary Journey | Jennifer Walker (2013)
- Comedy and the Feminine Middlebrow Novel: Elizabeth von Arnim and Elizabeth Taylor | Erica Brown (2013)
- Katherine Mansfield and Elizabeth von Arnim | Gerri Kimber, Isobel Maddison & Todd Martin (2019)
- Only Happiness Here | Gabrielle Carey (2020)
- The Countess from Kirribilli | Joyce Morgan (2021)
Websites:
- The Elizabeth von Armin Society: The International Society Devoted to Scholarship on Elizabeth von Armin
bronasbooks.com 