
The Last Summer
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Narrated by:
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Jane Wymark
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By:
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Judith Kinghorn
Clarissa is almost 17 when the spell of her childhood is broken. It is 1914, the beginning of a blissful, golden summer - and the end of an era. Deyning Park is in its heyday, the large country house filled with the laughter and excitement of privileged youth preparing for a weekend party. When Clarissa meets Tom Cuthbert, home from university and staying with his mother, the housekeeper, she is dazzled.
Tom is handsome and enigmatic; he is also an outsider. Ambitious, clever, his sights set on a career in law, Tom is an acute observer, and a man who knows what he wants. For now, that is Clarissa. As Tom and Clarissa's friendship deepens, the wider landscape of political life around them is changing, and another story unfolds: they are not the only people in love. Soon the world - and all that they know - is rocked by a war that changes their lives forever.
©2012 Judith Klinghorn (P)2012 TantorListeners also enjoyed...






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Critic reviews
Excellent!!!
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Loved every minute of this book!
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brutally honest story of love and life
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What did you love best about The Last Summer?
This book drew my emotions right along with the main character. My heart ached along with hers every page of the book. It painted a beautiful story of what true love and devotion should feel like.What other book might you compare The Last Summer to and why?
I found it interesting to read how the women were expected to play a "supportive" role during the war. Emotions and feelings were put aside.What does Jane Wymark bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
I loved reading Clarissa's thoughts while presenting another form of action.Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
I loved the narration.I couldn't put the book down.
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Not a quick, fluffy story. This is gritty, heavy with grief and loss, but also beautiful and enchanting. A telling which takes place over a 30 year period and has you digesting it for weeks afterwards.
Other reviewers have complained about Clarissa, the main character, being slow to act and speak up for herself - which she is - but for obvious reasons. Given the time period and the social class she was raised in, the author very accurately depicted how at 16 and 17 years old, a young girl, raised to be a lady, raised with the mantra that "education is wasted on young ladies", that a woman's most important role is to marry well and produce heirs to her husband, instructed and implored to never express strong emotions ("a lady who frowns, never wears the crown"), and to adhere to standards of propriety at all cost, could not possibly have the maturity and foresight to go against the very core of whom she was raised to be in order to attain her own happiness. Her mother, constantly preaches that life is sacrifice and compromise - "we all do what we must." It takes decades for her to realize that her mother does not know what is best for her. Honestly, I was struck by her strength and kindness in treating her family members with respect and love. Family members who contributed to her unhappiness and refused to see her own great sorrow. As in real life, it often takes people years or longer to know what they truly want in life. To overcome guilt - realizing they, themselves, are deserving of happiness, and that their happiness may come at an expense.
The much anticipated revelation of a particular heartbreaking ordeal Clarissa endured during the war does not come until the last few chapters. I found myself frustrated at her repeated almost confessions to Tom, her hero, and feared yet another 'missed opportunity' or worse, LOST opportunity. I was prepared to be outraged, but was in the end, very pleased.
I just loved this book! It was extremely well researched and written. I had some difficulty following the pre-chapter excerpts and took some time to discover the author of those letters.
Jane Wymark, as a narrator, does a great job! She perfectly narrates each character with their affectations. Well done!
Enchanting Saga
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beautiful
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Just Like Downton Abbey
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Obsessed with this story
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Beautiful war story
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I would love another of Judith Klinghorn's works to be recorded for Audible with the same narrator.
I love this period in British history as well and I would be sure to buy it
Amazing Narrator
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