‘North Dormer is at all times an empty place, and at three o’clock on a June afternoon its few able-bodied men are off the fields or woods, and the women indoors, engaged in languid household drudgery.’
– Summer
[ About Summer ]
A naive girl from a humble background meets an ambitious city boy, and a torrid romance ensues. Despite her pride, independence, and honesty, Charity Royall feels shadowed by her past–especially in her ardent relationship with the educated and refined Lucius Harney.
Can passion overcome the effects of heredity and environment?
[ My Review ]
Summer by Edith Wharton was originally published in 1917 and was considered quite sensational at the time due to its subject matter. It tells the story of Charity Royall and her sexual awakening as she embarks on a relationship with Lucius Harney, a young architect who visits her home town of North Dormer.
Charity ‘had been brought down from the mountain’ as a small child and reared by the lawyer Royall. It was regularly mentioned to her that she was extremely fortunate to have been taken under the wing of the lawyer Royall, and the surrounding North Dormer community.
‘Charity was not very clear about the Mountain; but she knew it was a bad place, and a shame to have come from, and that, whatever befell her in North Dormer, she ought, as Miss Hatchard had once reminded her, to remember that she had been brought down from there, and hold her tongue and be thankful.’
But Charity was bored. Her life was mundane in every way and she wished for a little excitement, something to add a little spark to her day. Charity worked in the local library but, other than that, her social outlets were minimal. When a stranger came to town, Charity was immediately fascinated by him and soon developed quite a crush on him.
‘She had learned what she was worth when Lucius Harney, looking at her for the first time, had lost the thread of his speech, and leaned reddening on the edge of her desk. ‘
Lucius Harney was unlike any other man she had met. He was kind and considerate, and treated her with respect and understanding. He took her on exciting journeys and she felt that anything was possible in his company.
Charity was naïve in so many ways and she dreamt of a future with Lucius, a life so very different to that she had with the lawyer Royall. Her youth, and her complete infatuation with Lucius, led her to taking risks that had serious consequences. She paid no heed to warnings and soon found out that life could be harsh and unrelenting in its punishment of youth.
At less than 200 pages Summer is a compact, but also fulfilling, read. With its exploration of the heady freedom of youth, followed by the soul-destroying crushing of a dream, Edith Wharton brings Charity Royall very much to life. Her joy, her pain, her joie de vivre, her sadness, and ultimately her innocence, are all depicted with clarity and wisdom. Controversial for its time, Summer is a wonderfully astute tale of repression and youth captured with an experienced pen.
[ Bio ]
Edith Wharton (1862–1937) was an American novelist—the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for her novel The Age of Innocence in 1921—as well as a short story writer, playwright, designer, reporter, and poet. Her other works include Ethan Frome, The House of Mirth, and Roman Fever and Other Stories.
Born into one of New York’s elite families, she drew upon her knowledge of upper-class aristocracy to realistically portray the lives and morals of the Gilded Age.
Ooh, I want to read this novel, so I’m adding it to my Christmas wishlist! x
This sounds like a good read. I haven’t read anything by Wharton yet. Though I have seen adapted films of her books. I think similar themes appear in her writing including female desire , freedom, and social status issues.