Elizabeth von Arnim

Elizabeth von Arnim (August 31, 1866 - February 9, 1941) was a British novelist and, through marriage, a member of the German nobility.

Related Topics:
August 31 - 1866 - February 9 - 1941 - British

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Born Mary Annette Beauchamp in Sydney, Australia, she was raised in England and in 1891 married Count Henning August von Arnim, a Prussian aristocrat, and the great-great-great-grandson of King Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia. She had met von Arnim during an Italian tour with her father. They married in London but lived in Berlin and eventually moved to the countryside where, in Nassenheide, Pomerania, the von Arnims had their family estate. The couple had five children, four daughters and a son. The children's tutors at Nassenheide included E. M. Forster and Hugh Walpole.

Related Topics:
Sydney - Australia - England - 1891 - Prussia - Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia - London - Berlin - Nassenheide - Pomerania - E. M. Forster - Hugh Walpole

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In 1898 she started her literary career by publishing Elizabeth and Her German Garden, a semi-autobiographical novel about a rural idyll published anonymously and, as it turned out to be highly successful, reprinted 21 times within the first year. Von Arnim wrote another 20 books, which were all published "By the author of Elizabeth and Her German Garden".

Related Topics:
1898 - Elizabeth and Her German Garden - Semi-autobiographical

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Count von Arnim died in 1910, and in 1916 his widow married John Francis Stanley Russell, 2nd Earl Russell, Bertrand Russell's elder brother. The marriage ended in disaster, with Elizabeth von Arnim escaping to the United States and the couple finally agreeing, in 1919, to get a divorce. Von Arnim also had an affair with H. G. Wells.

Related Topics:
1910 - 1916 - John Francis Stanley Russell, 2nd Earl Russell - Bertrand Russell - United States - 1919 - Divorce - H. G. Wells

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She was a cousin of Katherine Mansfield (whose real name was Kathleen Mansfield Beauchamp).

Related Topics:
Cousin - Katherine Mansfield

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Elizabeth von Arnim spent old age in London, in Switzerland, and on the French Riviera. When the Second World War broke out she permanently took up residence in the United States, where she died in 1941.

Related Topics:
London - Switzerland - French Riviera - Second World War - 1941

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