Summer Audiobook By Edith Wharton cover art

Summer

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Summer

By: Edith Wharton
Narrated by: Grace Conlin
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Wharton's most erotic and lyrical novel, Summer explores a daring theme for 1917, a woman's awakening to her sexuality. Eighteen-year-old Charity Royall lives in the small town of North Dormer, ignorant of desire until the arrival of architect Lucius Harney. Like the succulent summer landscape in the Berkshires around them, Charity's romance is lush and picturesque, but its consequences are harsh and real.

Praised for its realism and candor by such writers as Joseph Conrad and Henry James and compared to Flaubert's Madame Bovary, Summer was one of Wharton's personal favorites of all her novels and remains as fresh and relevant today as when it was first written.

(P)1994 Blackstone Audiobooks Classics Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Emotionally Gripping Heartfelt American Literature

Critic reviews

"Reader Grace Conlin distinguishes both men's and women's voices easily, using hushed, intimate tones to convey the sweetness of the romance. Yet an ephemeral quality in her delivery casts a shadow of reality on the story and reminds the listener that seasons change." (AudioFile)
Beautiful Descriptions • Compelling Story • Excellent Narration • Emotional Depth • Insightful Portrayal • Good Energy
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but I found the story enchanting, enthralling and somewhat ominously predictable. My first Edith Wharton but I believe I'll try another.

The negative reviews frightened me

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For Edith Wharton Summer has as a happy ending. I tried to imagine where the story took place. A small but rugged mountain range in New Hampshire , I reckoned. Charity’s lover sure was a swine. The historical and sociological details that are an integral part of the story were really interesting.

An Edith Wharton novel that is not sad

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It is very difficult to judge the story set against 2023 sensibilities. Certainly, this book is beautifully written. And I’m not going to give away the ending. Suffice to say thank god women have a lot more choices than they used to.

The moral of the story

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Grace Conlin's initial rapid delivery of Edith Wharton's sensitive penetration of the Summer of adolescent dreams collapsing into the Fall of the realities of adult choices is worth the investment of the listener's patience. Once Conlin settles into her natural rhythm, she crafts a gem that should become the centerpiece of the setting of required summer reading for every high school girl--and her mother.

Required "Summer" reading

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I like Edith Wharton and I was pleased to find a lesser known novel of hers to listen to.

The story is okay, and the main character is interesting, even though she is frustrating and kind of unlikeable at times.

My biggest complaint about this novel is the end. It’s as if Wharton got tired of writing and didn’t know how to finish her novel. Be warned, this novel has an insanely unsatisfying ending.

Unsatisfying end

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I love these period novels. This one was a bit slow. But, I was unsure of the end until the last syllable

Interesting story

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Not the kind of story we are used to now. A good look at what girls could look forward to in womanhood a hundred years ago. This story reminds us that while we have come a long way with women’s perceptions in society we still have a long way to go. Progress is uneven and painfully slow. Interesting that a wealthy society women of the world had this story and an understanding of a women life in such a geographical and socio-economic culture in her creative mind.

A women’s lot in life

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It’s not your typical kind of ending that you hope for. It was kind of sad in my opinion.

A kind of realistic ending

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I liked this book. It was good. I liked Charity and really enjoyed following her through this story.

Grace Conlin did a fantastic job performing this story! I thoroughly enjoyed her narration.

I enjoyed this book!

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Edith Wharton’s book is beautifully written and full of wonderful imagery. It’s a story of hope and love, followed by a set of unfortunate circumstances that change a young inexperienced girl to a woman very quickly. “Summer” is a cautionary tale.

Love gained. Love lost.

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