I had the pleasure of reading this short novel for the second time this week after many years. As a Wharton admirer -- she is highly on my list of literary crushes (although if The House of Mirth is any indication, I can't say she'd want much to do with a middle-class Jew whose grandmother did piece work) --please always take my devotion with a few grains of salt. That being said, I was surprised at how provocative and modern the novel seemed on this second visit, not only a commentary on early

Summer is not my first Edith Wharton novel and I remember having already enjoyed, many years ago, The House of Mirth.The French edition in which I read Summer, had no preface or postface, only a backcover text, saying: This is a novel that treats the female sexuality, seen as a powerful and constructive vital force. This novel was very modern for the time, 1918. So I approached this novel, the way I like to: without notice, without knowing the story or having read any review. A direct dive into

Summer lovin', had me a blastSummer lovin', happened so fast*This one immediately made the jump onto my Characters I Want to Slap shelf when I was introduced to Charity Royall, a bored teen who is fortunate enough to have a job in a library, but she HATES it! (SLAP!) Charity is basically at the age when she hates EVERYTHING, particularly the older man who has rescued her from an uncertain fate up on the Mountain, and the gossipy, small town where she currently resides. . . . we all live in the

This novel was first published in 1917 and I can’t help but be amazed by that. The themes in this novel are current, and as real today as they were a hundred years ago.Charity Royall was born to a rough life on The Mountain and was rescued at the age of five by a lawyer in the village and his wife. After the death of his wife, Mr. Royall did the best he knew how to raise the girl, and although she knew their family was better off than the rest of the village, Charity was filled with conflict and...

If you're looking for accessible classics, Edith Wharton's novellas are a good place to start. Although I preferred Ethan Frome over this book, both of these novellas resonated more strongly with me than Wharton's more popular novels (The House of Mirth and The Age of Innocence).As in "Frome", "Summer" is set in a small New England town and centers around the complex relationships of just a few main characters. For me, this is where Wharton is at the top of her game. Love is never easy or straig...

This would make a really good chamber opera.

WHAT THE FRENCH FRIES.THIS STORY IS TERRIBLE.Charity is instantly unlikable, but I began to appreciate her straightforwardness and ballsiness.She's lazy and selfish, though, and speaks terribly to people.She's also totally naive.Harney is a classic, predictable charmer and I kinda instantly disliked him because of where I assumed this was gonna go. I liked that he cared about the books, though. Respect, brother.Royall is repulsive and I was so disgusted by his hitting on the girl he basically ra...

Charity Royall. I loved her, hated her, sympathized with her, and cried for her.She's a young woman at age 19, bored with her life in a small New England town. Adopted by Lawyer Royall at a young age, she was saved from a life of poverty on the "mountain". One would think she would have been grateful, but not Charity. She hates Mr. Royall for what she sees as her imprisonment in small town drudgery, and also for his proposal of marriage. Enter Lucius Harney, sophisticated man about town; a young...

I am so in love with the writing of Edith Wharton. It makes me feel foolish to have had such a writer in full view and passed her over for so many years in favor of lesser ones.Edith Wharton's Summer is a different kind of novel than the others of hers that I have read, but not one bit less rich and enthralling. The main character, Charity Royall, is unsure of her place in society, raised in the home of one of the most prominent men in a small town but always made aware that she comes "from the

edith wharton is becoming my intellectual crush at this rate

The summer version of Ethan Frome, but not quite as good.

Refreshingly different take on the classic summer love story! Charity makes all the choices that Lily Bart didn't make in The House of Mirth. She goes for the lover, the child, AND the secure marriage that society forces upon any young, pregnant woman without any family connections. Doubtless, her "happily ever after" in North Dormer will contain a lot of drudgery, but she will have a summer night's dream, a child, and the knowledge that she MADE HER OWN DECISIONS to keep her going. Was it Lily...

IN FULL CIRCLE This is a tale that comes to life during a Summer, and the descriptions of the airy landscape under the sun are amongst the most enrapturing aspects of this novel.And then there is a story of conflict. First and foremost, of the heroine, Charity Royall, who is not a heroine at all. She is in conflict with her past, with her present, and, she suspects, with her future. She rebels against those who, charitably, have offered her a refuge and a life, granting her her name as a prom

Written in Wharton's inimitable style the prose in this novella is of course beautiful. Every word and phrase lends itself to defining summer in a small country town. It makes for beautiful reading.Charity is not a likeable character but I still felt sorry for her. It was apparent from the outset that life would probably not go well for her, especially in one of Edith Wharton's novels which are not famous for happy endings. The ending was pretty inevitable although it could have been worse.For a...

“Sweet sleepy warmth of summer nightsGazing at the distant lightsIn the starry sky“And when the rainBeats against my windowpaneI'll think of summer days againAnd dream of you” --A Summer Song,Chad & Jeremy, Songwriters: Clive Metcalf / David Stuart / Keith Noble``When I think of `Summer,' I think of it as one of Wharton's most heart-wrenching novels, about the very real agonies and results of young passion.'' – Elizabeth Strout Charity Royall has just stepped outside of the home of her benefacto...

this book is touted as "edith wharton's most erotic book". the introduction blabs on and on about its eroticism, and how scandalous it is. so i have devised a little drinking game. i invite you - i entreat you - to prepare a shot glass with your favorite scotch or whiskey, and do a shot every time you start feeling a little hot from all the sexy good times. i pretty much guarantee that shot glass will be untouched by the end of your readings. this book is not erotic, even in the broadest, most m...

"The longing to escape, to get away from familiar faces, from places where she was known, had always been strong in her in moments of distress. She had a childish belief in the miraculous power of strange scenes and new faces to transform her life and wipe out bitter memories."Ah, summertime. What better time of year to dream of escape, new love, and bright futures. Well, certainly Edith Wharton may reveal such dreams to you, but any reader familiar with this author knows that she will depict th...

Four reasons explain why this novella clicked for me: *It is not about glitzy high society.*It draws the life of ordinary people and it draws their lives realistically.*It illustrates that real life consists most often of choosing between mediocre alternatives. Rarely are we given that chance in a million, but at the same time a less optimistic choice need not be without hope or possibility.*It encourages readers to focus on the good that in fact does exist, in what appears at first glance o...

This was another great read by Edith Wharton. Although not as favored as Ethan Frome which it has been compared to, I loved it for the similarities of the complex characters and relationships. This one was a sad sort of coming of age story but more profound than a simple summer romance, and far from formulaic. Apparently this was written based on Edith Wharton's own love affair which made it even more interesting and left me wanting to read more about her personal life. Definitely recommended fo...

| | blog | tumblr | ko-fi | |3.25 stars “Now she knew the meaning of her disdains and reluctances. 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. But another kind of shyness had been born in her: a terror of exposing to vulgar perils the sacred treasure of her happiness.” Although short Summer is an interesting read.Feelings and actions are obliquely revealed or hinted...