Tea or Books? #12: happy vs sad endings, and Elizabeth and Her German Garden vs The Enchanted April

  Happy endings? Sad endings? And a couple of Elizabeth von Arnim novels – we have a fun, albeit somewhat sickly episode. It makes me think of my favourite, my-missed sitcom Happy Endings, but we’re actually talking about whether we prefer

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Happy endings? Sad endings? And a couple of Elizabeth von Arnim novels – we have a fun, albeit somewhat sickly episode. It makes me think of my favourite, my-missed sitcom Happy Endings, but we’re actually talking about whether we prefer books to be cheerful or miserable at the end (or, indeed, something in between). Spoilers alert, unsurprisingly – and thanks, Faith, for your suggestion. In the second half of the podcast, we talk about one of our favourite writers, Elizabeth von Arnim, and stage a battle between her two most famous novels, Elizabeth and Her German Garden and The Enchanted April.

I had to cut out a lot of coughing, so apologies if things are a bit disjointed. I left a few coughs in for effect.

Do head over to our iTunes page (why not leave us a review?!) or download through a podcast app, or listen in the player above. We love hearing from you – so do let us know your thoughts, or your suggestions. And here are the books we mention…

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

The Towers of Trebizond by Rose Macaulay

The World My Wilderness by Rose Macaulay

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngoza Adichie

Villette by Charlotte Bronte

Elizabeth Taylor

Barbara Pym

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Emma by Jane Austen

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

Guard Your Daughters by Diane Tutton

Paul Gallico

The Chateau by William Maxwell

Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

A Talent to Deceive: an Appreciation of Agatha Christie by Robert Barnard

The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim

Elizabeth and Her German Garden by Elizabeth von Arnim

Christopher and Columbus by Elizabeth von Arnim

The Caravanners by Elizabeth von Arnim

The Solitary Summer by Elizabeth von Arnim

The Enchanted August by Brenda Bowen

Patricia Brent, Spinster by Herbert Jenkins

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Father by Elizabeth von Arnim

Introduction to Sally by Elizabeth von Arnim

Mr Skeffington by Elizabeth von Arnim

Vera by Elizabeth von Arnim