Summer Half: A Barsetshire Novel [Paperback]

Angela Mackail Thirkell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1991

The denouement of Philip Winter's ill-begotten engagement to featherbrained Rose Birkett is enacted in full view of Southbridge School's extended family during a holiday break. Everyone, including her parents, is rooting for Philip's escape which occurs when Rose breaks it off as the utter dullness of being engaged overwhelms her. Along the way, we enjoy the tea party where Rose, "through sheer want of personality bring(s) the talk to her own level" and confounds her audience by insisting that Hamlet and Shakespeare are both names of plays (and probably the same one). As in many of Thirkell books, the characters refer to a body of literature, both classic and modern, with a casualness that would be improbable today; the assumption of a shared background and culture having been lost. The ceremony of the "Cleaning of the Pond" by Lydia, Eric Swan and a much improved Tony Morland brings the holiday to a satisfactory conclusion as does a match between Kate Keith and Everard Carter.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

British author ANGELA THIRKELL, granddaughter of pre-Raphaelite artist Edward Burne-Jones, was born in London in 1890. She began writing novels in 1930 to support herself and her sons. She produced a new book almost every year for the rest of her life. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Pub (November 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881847844
• ISBN-13: 978-0881847840
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,167,886 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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