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That Summer: A Novel
Author:
Willig, Lauren
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Class:
Fiction
Age: Adult
Language: English
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LC: PS3623.I
Print Run: 60000
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ISBN-13: 9781250014504
LCCN: 2014008045
Imprint: St. Martin's Press
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Pub Date: 06/03/2014
Availability: Out of Print Confirmed
List: $25.99
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Hardcover
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Physical Description:
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344 pages ; 25 cm
H 9.48",
W 6.36",
D 1.19",
1.19 lbs.
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LC Series:
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Brodart Sources:
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Brodart's Insight Catalog: Adult
Brodart's TOP Adult Titles
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Bibliographies:
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Awards:
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Library Journal Starred Reviews
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Starred Reviews:
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Library Journal
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TIPS Subjects:
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Historical Fiction
Psychological Fiction
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BISAC Subjects: |
FICTION / Women
FICTION / Historical / General
FICTION / Sagas
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LC Subjects:
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Antique dealers, England, Fiction
FICTION / Contemporary Women
FICTION / Historical
FICTION / Sagas
Historical fiction
Inheritance and succession, Fiction
Love stories
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SEARS Subjects: |
Antique dealers, Fiction
England, Fiction
Historical fiction
Inheritance and succession, Fiction
Love stories
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Reading Programs: |
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| Annotations |
| Brodart's TOP Adult Titles | 02/01/2014 |
| In 2009, a hidden painting and resurfacing memories bring a secret past to light when Julia Conley inherits a house near London and heads back to the place where her mother died in a car crash when Julia was just a little girl. The fateful events that unfold transport the reader back to 1849 to discover more of the house's storied past. 352pp., 60K, Auth res: New York, NY |
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| Starred Reviews: |
| Library Journal | 05/01/2014 |
| In Cornwall, 1839, youthful Imogene Hadley is wooed by Arthur Grantham, who appreciates her bright, curious mind. In New York City, 2009, Julia Conley inherits the Grantham estate after her Aunt Regina's passing. Arriving in London, Julia discovers a hidden painting of doomed lovers but featuring the proper lady from the full-length portrait in the drawing room. Soon secrets from the distant and recent past come alive, leaving no one untouched. There is something for every reader in Willig's latest stand-alone (after The Ashford Affair). Looking for a mystery? Found. Looking for a family drama? Found in two different centuries. And romance seals the deal! But the romantic pairings aren't predictable, offering relationships that are forbidden, meant-to-be, sickly obsessive, and tentatively beginning. VERDICT A well-rounded group of characters, clearly connected ties between alternating time periods, and a jaw-dropping conclusion make for one engaging story. Fans will appreciate the author's nod to her "Pink Carnation" series, but this title can be read alone. A winning suggestion for any age, this satisfying novel could also be a strong book discussion selection. [See Prepub Alert, 11/18/13; library marketing.]. Stacey Hayman, Rocky River P.L., OH. 352p. LIBRARY JOURNAL, c2014. |
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| Journal Reviews |
| Booklist | 06/01/2014 |
| When Julia inherits her great-aunt's house in Herne Hill, outside London, it's a good time for her to take a break from New York, where she has no work or romantic ties. Returning to England, however, brings up suppressed memories of her dead mother and childhood, and while sorting through the home's myriad belongings, Julia uncovers a mysterious painting that not only played a significant role in her family's story but also in art history. We learn that Julia's ancestor, Imogen, came to Herne Hill as a young bride in 1849 and became trapped in a passionless, childless marriage. When her husband hires a young artist to paint her portrait, he and Julia have an ill-fated affair. Popular novelist Willig (The Passion of the Purple Plumeria, 2013) weaves together Julia's and Imogen's stories and further enriches the tale with details about the Pre-Raphaelite movement, gleaned from Julia's involvement with Nicholas, an enigmatic antiques dealer. Willig's latest is a smart blend of historical romance and contemporary self-discovery story. Walker, Aleksandra. 352p. AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION, c2014. |
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| Kirkus Reviews | 05/15/2014 |
| A New Yorker inherits a house in England where she discovers the tragic romance of a 19th-century ancestor caught up with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.Though born in London, Julia has little memory of her childhood there. After her mother's death in a car accident, she and her father moved to New York, where he came to prominence as a surgeon and she grew into a driven stock analyst. She's been adrift since she was laid off, though, so the notification about inheriting a house from her great-aunt offers the break she needs. The house in Herne Hill jogs long-buried childhood memories: Her mother was raised there, and they visited her great-aunt often. On her first day back she's surprised by a cousin, Natalie, who suspiciously offers to help. Nat then invites Nick, an antiques dealer, to get the house sorted out. Amid the bric-a-brac there are some notable paintings--a portrait of a stunning young woman hangs in the conservatory and a scene of Tristan and Isolde has been wrapped in linen and hidden in a closet. The chapters alternate between the story of Julia and Nick researching the paintings (and the windfall they may bring) and the life of the young woman in the portrait, Imogen Grantham, who finds herself unhappily married in 1849. She had thought she and her husband, Arthur, would share their love of antiquities, but after their marriage, Arthur treats her like a doll. It's only when the Pre-Raphaelites come to study Arthur's collection that Imogen realizes what she's been missing. Arthur asks one of the painters, Gavin Thorne, for a portrait of Imogen, and soon artist and model have begun an affair that will have deadly consequences. Meanwhile, Julia and Nick begin a summer romance that may cure their historic skittishness.Willig's novel has superior predecessors--Byatt's Possession, Ackroyd's Chatterton--but she brings an easy, contemporary charm to her characters, ensuring the perfect beach read. 352pg. KIRKUS MEDIA LLC, c2014. |
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| Library Journal Prepub Alert | 11/18/2013 |
| Having made her name with the best-selling "Pink Carnation" series, Willig turned out a standalone titled The Ashford Affair that did very nicely, thank you. This second standalone leaps between 2009, when Julia Conley returns to England to find a pre-Raphaelite painting secreted away at the house she has just inherited, and 1849, when Imogen Grantham's cold and lonely life suddenly lights up after her much older husband asks the young and uncannily perceptive Gavin Thorne to paint her portrait. A big book-club pitch. 352p. LJ Prepub Alert Online Review. LIBRARY JOURNAL, c2013. |
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9781250014504,dl.it[0].title
| Review Citations |
| New York Times Book Review | 06/22/2014 |
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