The Last Summer

By: Judith Kinghorn

Narrated by: Jane Wymark

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 Tantor

Critic reviews

"A sumptuous, absorbing tale of love in time of war." (Rachel Hore, author of A Place of Secrets)

Loved every minute of this book!

I’m so sad and feel so empty now that this book is finished. ~sigh... I might need to wait a few days to start a new one. This was a *great* book. The narration was great, too. I was listen to this one again.

brutally honest story of love and life

I thought this was just a novel about WWI, but it was so much more than that. It was a beautiful, tragic, romantic story of love and loss. I felt the emotions down to my core., I knew the characters. I went through their lives, their story, with them. Excellent.

I couldn't put the book down.

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.

Enchanting Saga

A lovely, enchanting, tragic, romantic, and (at times) frustrating story that from the very beginning transports the reader to a bygone era at the start of the 20th century. Judith Kinghorn's knowledge of the cultural shift taking place, language and slang of the times, the crumbling of Britain's upper class society, and the devastating impact of WW I, elevates and authenticates this story, truly making it an experience to read/listen to. I could not put it down.

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!

Obsessed with this story

This book is beautiful. The writing, the narration, and the story all beautiful. I lost sleep wanting to continue listening and became irritated when my family would interrupt me.

Beautiful war story

The story of Clarissa and Tom is heartbreakingly beautiful. It is the story of so many past and present. It is so easy to see yourself, at different times and for different reasons, woven in their story. It has interesting characters and, at times, unbelievable and frustrating detours. But in the end it takes you where you want to go and leaves you wanting more.

beautiful

This book was both beautiful and realistic. I want to see this as a movie.

Just Like Downton Abbey

I wish someone would make this into a series or a movie. it's so beautifully tragic. Like Downton it begins just before the war, During the war, and the craziness after. The plot is so romantic, you can visualize it, the words are powerfully poetic and so well written. it's a huge changing time, how the different classes were. it brings up topics that were a bit taboo for Downton, because of being driven into the London scene from an estate just like Downton Abbey. The craziness of the what the women were going through as well as the men. How they tried to capture just one moment, before it was time to go back to the trenches. if you miss Downton Abbey, and you love the era. I highly recommend either reading or listening to the audio. The audio was nice for me as I can clean, cook, and garden whilst listening to one of my favorite books. Other good reads are The Velvet Hours, and anything written by Victoria Holt.

Amazing Narrator

I think the storyline was good and yes, it was well written. However the narrator's voice drew me in at once and made me care what happened to the characters.
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

Tragically Real

I rarely leave a narrative review, but for this one, I had to. I was riveted throughout the entire novel. It was tragic. It was real. It paralleled my own life so closely that I couldn't stop listening, even though I very much wanted to at times. I cried more than I have cried in a very long time and it was purging. The story is about life, normal life, real life, and is so beautifully narrated that one is drawn into each character almost immediately. I feel spent now that I have finished the book. As an aside, I wonder if the author was in one of those proverbial valleys of life, that lead to writing such a story, but again...it is real life.