Sometimes we become an evangelist for a book that we feel has been forgotten or not gotten enough attention. My most recent of these books is THE FORTNIGHT IN SEPTEMBER by RC Sherriff (available in paperback and Audible). It was published in the 1931 and was a bestseller in both the US and UK. In fact, the first printing of 10,000 books sold out in a week, and the subsequent 20,000 book printing in one month. The US quickly got it into print and it was translated into several languages. Sherriff wrote 8 books, 2 dozen plays, and more than 50 screenplays. He turned his novel Journey’s End about his experiences in WWI into a very successful play (the 2007 Broadway revival won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Play) and later wrote the screenplay for the film version. He also wrote the screenplays for Mrs Miniver, The Dam Busters, and Goodbye Mr Chips. He was nominated for 2 BAFTAS and an Academy Award. THE FORTNIGHT IN SEPTEMBER is about a family’s annual seaside holiday. I’m grateful for the Graham Norton Book Club Podcast where I discovered this work. If you’d like to hear their discussion of the book (and Girl with the Pearl Earring author Tracy Chevalier’s enthusiastic conversation about it), check out the Graham Norton Book Club, Series 2, Episode 7 on Audible.I love this book more every time I read it (four times so far). It is beautiful to have a good, long, calm look at each of the main characters: Mr Stevens, Mrs Stevens, Mary, Dick, and, to a lesser extent, young Ernie. There is a lovely and yet bittersweet autumnal feeling to this particular holiday at the seaside. The world is changing faster than the Stevens family can manage, and it appears the beautiful fortnights in September they’ve enjoyed for two decades may be coming to a close. The book is set around 1930, and from our modern-day perspective, we know what’s coming just 8 years later. It is all too likely that both boys, ages 17 and 10, may well be caught up in the war that looms ahead. But for the moment, they are all holding onto the present and their treasured memories, even as they notice with new eyes a certain seediness and cheapness around them. All of the members of this family have had disappointments among their successes, and the two teenagers are trying to figure out their futures. The Stevenses do not always understand each other, but they always like each other and enjoy being together. There is much humor here, plenty of rumination, and very few decisions made. This is a book where it seems fair to say both that ”nothing happens” and that “things never stop happening.”Perhaps this book is not for everyone, but I do wish everyone would read it. The author himself wasn’t sure anyone would be interested in this family, so when he sent it to his editor, Sherriff was very clear that he would understand completely if they chose not to publish it. In response, the publisher said he would be honored to publish it and “wouldn’t change a word.” Will you read it? And will you help me continue the word-of-mouth chain that has brought this long-forgotten book back to life?