The Summer of '39

by Miranda Seymour

Book Overview

Inspired by the events that occur after poets Robert Graves and Laura Riding leave Europe to spend a summer with a young American couple, this novel is told through the memoirs of a wizened recluse whose friendship with an enigmatic poet and husband-stealer ends in a tangle of divorce and madness.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393048063
• ISBN13: 9780393048063
• Release Date: September 1999
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 230 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.6" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

WHEN EVIL PREVAILS

I wish there were half star ratings because I would really give this book 4 1/2 stars -- I reserve 5 stars for only the best of the best -- but I would be doing this book an injustice to only give it 4 stars and thus the 5 star rating. Prior to reading this book, I knew nothing of Robert Graves and his relationship with the poet Laura Riding. I'm glad I didn't because this book was such a surprise to me. It is so well-written and you turn each page with such dread knowing that something bad is going to happen but not knowing exactly what it is. Seymour's fictionalization of Grave's and Riding's visit to America during the summer of 1939 is masterful. She's taken the liberty of including some things that add to the understanding of each character. Throughout this book, I was behind Nancy Brewster 100% hoping above hope that all would turn out well for her. The author has done such a wonderful job of turning fact into fiction that I will always believe in my heart that this is truly the way it happened. I recommend reading this book to find out for yourself how powerful evil can be and if it can be humanly overcome.

Compelling read

I hadn't read enough about this book before I read it to know it was based on a "true" story, but I found it to be a compelling read that told of seemingly mundane events, all the while heightening my sense of dread. Good book. It made me want to read more about Robert Graves and Laura Riding.