Published in 1899, The Solitary Summer is a charming companion to von Arnim’s earlier novel Elizabeth and Her German Garden. As with its prequel, the novel is semi-autobiographical and in the form of a series of diary entries. The narrator decides to spend one summer alone in her country house far away from the demands and distractions of the world. She offers us a witty and lyrical account of a solitary summer, filled with reading and reflections on her beloved garden. However, her months removed from society turn out to be less solitary than planned: there is her husband, ‘the Man of Wrath’, to pacify, three young children to amuse, and the arrival of a regiment of soldiers. Light-hearted in tone, The Solitary Summer describes a voyage of self-discovery set against the idyllic backdrop of an ever- changing summer garden.
