The Last Summer of Innocence [Hardcover]

Linda Sole (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1992

Sent to live with her wealthy cousins in order to avoid seeing her mother die of consumption, sixteen-year-old Kate Linton discovers that the ""ultimate sacrifice"" her supposedly ailing mother had made is not all it appears to be.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Deftly maneuvering her busy characters through a convoluted plot, Sole ( Lovers and Sinners ) demonstrates flair, imagination and a fine ability to evoke a time and place: England during WW I. Kate Linton is 16 when her mother Emma, dying of consumption, sends her to live with distant cousins, the aristocratic Redferns. The anguished girl needs all of her formidable wits to cope with the initially hostile family, which seems to pursue riding, tennis and adultery with equal vigor. In due course Kate and young Harry, heir to the property, fall irreversibly in love, but the onset of the war and a secret from the Redfern past keep them apart. Meanwhile Emma, who told Kate she was dying in order to run off with a lover, is secretly living her own eccentric and dangerous lifestyle. In due course it is discovered that Emma has betrayed Kate in more ways than one. Much of the action takes place in the lush countryside around St. Ives and in the sophisticated environs of London, settings vividly rendered by Sole. The war in France and its grotesque toll on young men is graphically rendered in this electric romance.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Betrayal is the name of the game in this historical novel that is really two stories in one. The intricate plotting is enhanced by the dual nature of the story. The real motivation behind 16-year-old Kate being sent by her mother to live with her wealthy cousins in the Cambridgeshire fens is revealed in alternating chapters as her mother Emma's story is told. Character development is excellent, making readers feel as though we really know these people. The time period, pre- and post-World War I, and the locale are unobtrusive. Historical fiction readers won't want to miss this story reminiscent of Catherine Cookson's novels. Highly recommended for public libraries of any size.
- Sue Mevis, Ludlow Memorial Lib., Monroe, Wis.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 325 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr (January 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312070152
• ISBN-13: 978-0312070151
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #348,237 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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