That Camden Summer [Large Print] [Paperback]

LaVyrle Spencer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1996

"A modern fairy tale, complete with a deserving heroine, a prince of a guy, and a happily-ever-after ending." (People)

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Fiercely independent Roberta Jewett is returning to her hometown of Camden, Maine, with her daughters in tow. Having just endured a scandalous divorce, Roberta only wants to settle down and create a decent life for herself and her children. Romance is the furthest thing from her mind, but when Gabe Farley enter her life Roberta soon learns to trust in love again. The endearing characters and pleasing plot to be found in That Camden Summer make for an excellent romance read. --Maudeen Wachsmith --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

From Publishers Weekly

A resilient divorcee returns with her three daughters to her childhood hometown; a lonely widower makes the rough journey out of the shell of his own isolated soul; and the perennially bestselling Spencer (Home Song) doesn't miss a beat as she expertly gives them a second chance at love. First, however, they have to suffer. It's the summer of 1916 when Roberta Jewett returns to Camden, Maine, after 18 years. As a divorcee, she finds herself a social outcast and even her mother thinks she's a tramp (besides which she wants to work, of all things, and own a car). What makes her really mad, however, are men. She doesn't like them, having learned, she thinks, all there is to know from her disastrous marriage. But it turns out that the brutes can be both worse and better than she has ever dreamed. On the one hand, there's Elfred, her lecherous brother-in-law, who can hardly keep his mitts off her; on the other hand, there's Gabriel Farley, the widowed carpenter, and she can hardly keep her mind off him. From the very start, Gabe and Roberta are bickering ("Don't you laugh at me, Mr. Farley!.... I shall own a motorcar, come hell or high water."). Then, little by little, without really trying, they become friends (as do their children). Her hatred of men wanes, his obsession with his dead wife becomes muted and their attraction heats up with the summer. But when Roberta is brutally raped, all her hopes are threatened. Will she be able to pick up the pieces? Can she face family secrets and challenge the town's benighted hypocrisy? Will Gabe do the right thing? Spencer, famous for her heart-rending slices of Americana, delivers the goods again. First serial to Readers Digest; Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club main selections.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: G K Hall & Co (November 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0078381606
• ISBN-13: 978-0078381607
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,952,856 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A realistic trial of faith amongst lovers and friends., May 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: That Camden Summer (Mass Market Paperback)

"In That Camden Summer," by Lavyrle Spencer, Roberta Jewett has experienced the unfaithfulness of her husband. To rid herself of her past she moves back to her hometown of Camden, Maine. This small town in which Roberta grew up now sees her as a disgrace. A divorce in a small town is seen as a criminal offense and Roberta is the offender. Through many hardships suffered through the actions of her mother as well as the town's citizens, Roberta decides to rebuild her life for her girls and herself. Love is reintroduced to her unexpectedly and her life falls back into place as she learns to have faith in the opposite sex.

In this book irony is the most significant literary element. Roberta is criticized frequently for the divorce she had encountered only months earlier. In the latter part of the book, readers see how ironic it is for her to be criticized while other citizens of the town have the same, if not worse, faults. It also ironic how badly the townspeople treat Roberta after everything she does for others. Throughout the story she is seen as a strong female who puts her life and family back together after a terrible experience. Her fellow citizens see her as a failure creating another ironic instance.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Book With Complex characters, October 2, 2000

By 

Tate (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: That Camden Summer (Mass Market Paperback)

I happened to love most of LaVyrle Spencer's books, but this is my favorite. So rarely do romances tackle the issues that Spencer illuminates in this novel. Finally, a women with spirit who is not a shrew or countlessly doing stupid things.

Roberta Jewitt returns to her home town after divorcing her husband. She brings her three daughters in order for them to become closer to the family she left in Maine when she went away to college in Boston. However, she encounters many things when she returns, not all of them good or pretty to read about.

I felt this book was ultimately about choices. The choices you make, the motives behind those choices, and the rewards and consequences of those choices.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a grown-up romance and not the junior high school stuff that a lot of authors are putting out.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great read, May 14, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: That Camden Summer (Mass Market Paperback)

I loved this book!I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a fast enjoyable read. This book got me hooked on Spencer's books!