About this item

A sparkling summer debut of love and reawakening that transports the classic The Enchanted April to a picture-perfect island in MaineIt's a rainy summer in Park Slope, Brooklyn, when two unhappily married women, Lottie Wilkinson and Rose Arbuthnot, spot a tattered ad on their children's preschool bulletin board:Hopewell CottageLittle Lost Island, Maine.Old pretty cottage to rentSpring water, blueberries, sea glass.August.Neither can afford it, but they are smitten. To share expenses, they find two companions: Caroline Dester, the exquisite darling of the independent movie scene, and elderly Beverly Fisher, who is recovering from heartbreaking loss. Transformed by the refreshing summer breezes, steamed lobsters, and cocktail hours on the wrap-around porch, the unlikely quartet gradually begin to open up to one another, and ultimately rediscover their capacity to love and be loved.



About the Author

Brenda Bowen

BRENDA BOWEN read Pride and Prejudice in one sitting when she was twelve and has never quite recovered. She is devoted to Jane Austen, Jane Eyre, Mary Wesley, Elizabeth von Arnim, Billy Collins, John Keats, John Milton, and Billy Wilder, among others. You can find more about her at www.brendabowen.com.

As to where this book came from: "I almost never watch a movie based on a book before reading the book," she says, "but in the case of Enchanted April (the movie) I didn't even know there was The Enchanted April (the book) . I saw the movie, loved it, read the book, loved it more - and every time I watched the film or read the novel I thought 'This story could be happening now.' I wanted to read an updated version of Elizabeth von Arnim's The Enchanted April so much that I wrote it myself."

ENCHANTED AUGUST will be published in the US by Pamela Dorman Books/Viking in June 2015 and by Vintage UK in July.

Penguin Classics US & UK will publish a new edition of Elizabeth von Arnim's The Enchanted April, with a foreword by Brenda Bowen, at the same time.

Brenda was born in Philadelphia, spent her wonder years in England (from Herman's Hermits to Queen to the Clash) , was graduated from Colby College, made her career in New York, and longs for a cottage in Maine.

(If you're looking for Brenda's alter ego, award-winning children's book author Margaret McNamara, check out Margaret McNamara's s author page, too.)

author photo credit: McKay Photo Imaging



Read Next Recommendation

Report incorrect product information.