Edith Wharton–SUMMER
Posted in Classic Novel, Coming-of-age, Literary, US Regional on Jan 10th, 2011
Written in 1917, Summer is Wharton’s most explicitly sexual novel, tracing the awakening of Charity Royall to the sweetness of love and its power. Charity was born on “the mountain,” a place of poverty and degradation, and given over to be brought up by Lawyer Royall and his wife, residents of the town of North Dormer. When his wife dies, Lawyer Royall is hard pressed to deal with this child, choosing to ignore her most of the time, and bringing her up with little feeling, warmth, or affection. Anxious to have some independence so that she can escape, at some point, from the closed society of the village, Charity becomes the town librarian, a part-time job which gives her a small amount of her own money. There she encounters Lucius Harney, the nephew of one of the town’s leading citizens, an architect studying some of the old houses in the area. His interest in Charity soon develops into affection and then passion, and the two become lovers, a relationship which quickly develops complications. (To see the full review, click on the title.)
