Summer

A heartfelt novel. If you like Steinbeck you may like this book.

In Edith Wharton's novel 'Summer' we meet the beautiful eighteen-year-old Charity Royall, who lives in the New England town of North Dormer with her guardian, the widowed Lawyer Royall. Rescued as a small child from a family of outcasts living in squalor on the mountain beyond the town, Charity (who has never been allowed to forget her origins) knows she should be thankful that she has escaped from a life of grime and poverty, but instead feels resentful and unsettled. Bored with the pace of life in North Dormer and finding her part-time job as the local librarian rather limiting, she longs to escape, and when her guardian makes her aware of the fact that his feelings towards her have changed from paternal to something less chaste, Charity's wish to escape becomes even more desirable. Into the library one day arrives the handsome and sophisticated Lucius Harney, an architect from New York, who shows Charity that he is very attracted to her - and, despite Charity being aware that Lucius is out of her class and she should take care not to allow him too many liberties, she finds it difficult not to let her passionate nature rule her head. But is Lucius all he appears to be? And what exactly are his true intentions towards the beautiful but inexperienced Charity? First published in 1917, Edith Wharton's 'Summer' was regarded by the author as one of her personal favourites and, although this is not an entirely original story, I can easily understand why the author chose this as one of her most pleasing pieces of work; it's a beautifully portrayed novel, full of sensual descriptions of situation and setting and also one that sensitively describes Charity's sexual awakening. However, although Charity may be the heroine of the novel, it is Lawyer Royall who is the more intriguing and complex character and I found it interesting the way Ms Wharton portrayed him from different perspectives during the course of the story. Initially we see him from Charity's perspective as a coarse, lumbering, elderly man - but, as we read further, we find him being described as a powerfully built man in mid-life whose "gravely set face wore the look of majesty that used to awe and fascinate"; he is also the most influential and well-educated person in the town and is well-regarded by many in North Dormer. It is true that, driven by his desire, Royall's behaviour towards Charity is, at times, reprehensible, but he also shows her kindness and understanding in his bluff way. But, ultimately, is Lawyer Royall a 'knight in shining armour' when Charity really needs him, or does he take advantage of the situation for his own sexual gratification? Naturally, I shall leave that for those who have yet to read the book to discover for themselves. I very much enjoyed this novel of Edith Wharton's and it's one that I find easy to recommend. 4 Stars.

The writing is poetic, the story is reliable, and the characters are sympathetic. It was a good read.

It's Edith Wharton, what else is can I say? Right up there with Thomas Hardy, W Somerset Maugham, Willa Cather, etc.

One of the best authors.