Elizabeth von Arnim's semi-autobiographical first novel - first published in 1898 and written as a series of diary entries - details the joys and frustrations of creating a garden on her husband's family estate in northern Germany.

Elizabeth is a wild spirit whose minor eccentricities (she is happiest when eating salad outdoors) bemuse the servants and shock her high-born neighbours. Rather than hating the estate's remoteness and dilapidation, Elizabeth sees her sojourn there as an opportunity to create a beautiful garden in which she can spend time thinking about the world, playing with her beloved daughters and tolerating the occasional visitor.

Reader: Caroline Martin
Writer: Elizabeth von Arnim
Abridger: Sara Davies
Producer: Kirsteen Cameron Show less