Elizabeth and Her German Garden is a novel by Elizabeth von Arnim, first published in 1898; it was very popular and frequently reprinted during the early years of the 20th century.
The story is a year’s diary written by the protagonist Elizabeth about her experiences learning gardening and interacting with her friends. It includes commentary on the beauty of nature and on society, but is primarily humorous due to Elizabeth’s frequent mistakes and her idiosyncratic outlook on life.
She looked down upon the frivolous fashions of her time writing “I believe all needlework and dressmaking is of the devil, designed to keep women from study.”
The book is the first in a series about the same character. It is noteworthy for being published without a named author.
Fictional autobiography would be the proper way to describe this book. Elizabeth is snarky and opinionated but in such an adorable way that you can’t help but like her. All she wants to do is take care of her large garden and her three young children, and be left alone. She tolerates her husband and refers to him as the ‘Man of Wrath’. He ‘talks the talk’ but Elizabeth doesn’t let him ‘walk the walk’. Her oldest baby girl is five, born in April and is appropriately called ‘The April Baby’. The four year old was born in May and the three year old in June, and yes, they are ‘The May Baby’ and ‘The June Baby’. When some escaped cows threaten to trample the garden, the June Baby grabs a stick bigger than herself and holds the astonished cows at bay until help arrives.