Customer Reviews

The summer day is done

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Summer Day Is Done works so well on many levels--as a tale for explaining the downfall of Nicholas II, a portrait of a family, and a touching but never melodramatic or sappy romance. Stevens draws his characters with a loving but honest hand, and never gives into the temptation to destroy the book's integrity by incorporating traditional "happy ending"-type of events. I'm sure historians of the Russian Revolution might take exception to his habit of casting the Romanoff family and their actions in the best possible light (it was quite a shock to me when I read Nicholas and Alexandra, after reading this novel), but I rather like his decision to focus on N & A's positive qualities. We'll leave cold reality to the history texts.

And the romance is exquisitely written. It is a wonderful love story, which is rarely found despite the multitudes of books that claim to be romances. (To give you an idea of my taste, I think that Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres and Possession by A.S. Byatt fall into the category of intelligent and thoughtful love stories that eschew formulas.) Kirby and Olga never step out of character. Even though you know what really happened during the Russian Revolution, somehow the book manages to avoid predictability. You find yourself hoping desperately that somehow, events that are decades past can be averted.

This is a fabulous book. Read it if you can find a copy.

I first got this book 30 years ago and I came to Amazon recently just to replace my worn out copy! I'm not into romantic novels. But I enjoy reading about the Romanovs and thought, well this will be fun. And it is.

Okay it's fluff. But it's very well written fluff and you have to respect that; good writing is good writing. It takes you expertly away to another time and place. Olga Nikolaevna has always been my fav and it's nice to think she had a romance in the short time given her. Nothing could come of it of course, but while nursing during the WWI, the real Olga Nikolaevna indeed did, with one of the injured soldiers she cared for. Well why not a Mr. Kirby?

It's very sweet that in the book, the innocent romance begins when Olga is 16, and so there are years for the two characters develop a bond...and not the mere weeks the real Olga had. The fact that it's an "impossible" relationship due to their difference in rank, only adds to the romance of the story . Here a look or a word, speaks worlds.

I re-read " The Summer Day is Done" every few years and it's always enjoyable. All I know is even though I have passed on 1000's of books during those 30 years,I could never bring myself to put "The Summer Day is Done" in the box and pass it on to another reader....and I'm glad I can get a newer copy on Amazon for myself!

Enjoy!

R.T. Stevens has done an absolutely wonderful job of this fictional novel of the Imperial Family! The main characters are John Kirby, a British officer, and Grand Duchess Olga Nicolaevna, the eldest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna. The Summer Day Is Done is such a charming book and so difficult to put down - it makes you want to smile, and yet at the same time, so tragic that it is quite easy to find yourself in tears. The portrayal of the Imperial Family in this book, I find, is much better than a lot of other books on the family (fiction or non-fiction).

Overall, The Summer Day Is Done is definitely worth a read and one to treasure for a lifetime.

The Summer Day is Done is a moving account of the events leading up to the Bolshevik Revolution as seen through the eyes of an expatriate Frenchman and the girl he loves. The girl, sort of unfortunately, is Olga, Grand Duchess of Russia, the daughter of the last Czar, Nicholas II. While the book ends tragically, of course, with the execution of the Romanov family by the Bolsheviks, the description of the daily life of the family in the years leading up to the Revolution is evocative. The scenery is described in such detail that when my parents visited the Summer Palace this year and brought me back pictures, it looked exactly as I had imagined it from the book.

The family is described as loving and devoted to one another but, unfortunately for them, somewhat blind to the troubles rocking Russia during Nicholas II's tenure. The love story between the Olga and the soldier, who is accepted as part of this warm family's life, is charming and sweet. Their love is doomed from the start, but, as a reader, you keep hoping for a last minute reprieve for them. This book has stayed with me through the years and sparked an interest in the Russian Revolution and the Czar's family. Clearly the background research was well done and well put togther to render this endearing portrait of a family that was wrong for its time, and paid with their lives.

From the book jacket:

"Grand Duchesses are not destined to share their lives with untitled Englishmen. Glorious summer days do not last forever. The memories, however, do linger."

At the core this is a very simple story, that of John Kirby who has spent the last few years exploring Russia and its culture (he's really a spy for the British government). John's travels bring him to the Crimea as a guest of Princess Aleka Petrovna. The Imperial family is in residence at Livadia Palace and give a ball in honor of Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna's birthday and John gets an invite. John makes a big splash with the royal family and he's soon like one of the family, playing tennis with the Tsar and romping in the gardens with the children. Olga and John share an instant chemistry, and those feelings continue to grow, although they know it is a love that cannot be.

"They had inherited autocracy, they were imprisoned by their heritage and governed by the edicts of their ancestors. On this summer day it did not seem important."

Russia is soon caught up in a war they are ill prepared for, and the country is ripe for revolution and John finds himself in the thick of it and no matter what path life sends him on, he always seems to land right in the lap of the royal family and Olga. I won't say more, but I assume most of you know the fate of the Romanovs and that is where the book ends, although it does finish on a somewhat positive note with one of my favorite characters in the book (no, I'm not telling).

I found this a good solid read, and I thought the method of using a character like John to give us an inside look at the Romanovs a good one, just be warned that that inside look was seen through a very rose-colored set of glasses. The Tsar and his family were such good, kind, loving, wonderful, beautiful people who hadn't a clue that people could actually disagree with them, let alone kick them out for another form of government...

Recommended for those who must read all things Romanov. Out of print, but I was able to obtain a copy via Inter-library Loan.

I've loved this book for 30 years and I've read it countless times. Even knowing how it ends, I still cry every time. It started my love affair with all things Russian and my ultimate dream is to some day visit the places featured in this book.

This is my favorite kind of story, fictional events and characters woven around factual events and people. If you love a good romance and a bit of history, this book will grab you in the first chapter and never let you go.

I just finished this book, and although I knew the hero and heroine would not end up together, I couldn't but the book down. The description of the characters are vivid and makes you love them dearly. Many things have been written about the Romanovs, and this book give us a glimps of what could very well have been.

The Summer Day is Done is one of three superb books I have read in my lifetime. It moved me to tears, an unusual response from me while reading. I read it over twenty years ago and only two other books since then have touched me so deeply: The Clan of the Cavebear, and The Time Traveler's Wife. There are "must-reads" that I purchase and enjoy, such as the Harry Potter books and James Patterson books. But this book has stayed with me for a lifetime.

This is my favourite book ever! The love between Grand Duchess Olga and Mr. Kirby is very sweet and touching, even though it is a very unlikely match. I also loved the Imperial Family because they were all so united and loving. The end is very sad though, because we know that the Romanovs were murdered in 1918. But still, the love continues in the heart, even though Olga's life ended so early and tragically. But overall, this book is excellent and I recommend it for EVERYONE.

This is a historical novel. Granted. But it is much more.
The author, Robert Tyler Stevens, grasps the heart of what REAL Russian people are about, as well as the classic British persona with its keen, clever humour.
But there is more afoot in this novel. Stevens gives the reader a highly believable peek into the very english-speaking and english-living lives of the Nicholas Romanov family--even though they were technically Russian. The children: Olga, Tatiana, Marie, Anastasia and Aleksey all make the reader laugh and cry with equal intensity. This is a huge work with very very reslistic glimpses of a wonderful family, who were totally devoted to themselves and to Russia. Utterly Superb!