Summer

A dark 1917 novel of female passion and repression in rural New England.

Charity Royall was born into poverty and raised by an adoptive father grooming her to be his wife. Set against the Massachusetts Berkshires, this is young Charity’s story of following desire away from her repressive home and into the arms of a visiting architect, who awakens the erotic in her. Their sensual affair leads to a pregnancy and the desperation that follows for this young woman with few options.

A frank look at female sexuality and isolation early in 20th century America—but one that’s marked by true love, even if it can’t last.