Summer

Whartons most erotic and lyrical novel, Summer explores a daring theme for 1917a womans awakening to her sexual needs. Eighteen year-old Charity Royall lives in the small town of North Dormer, ignorant of desire until the arrival of architect Lucius Harney. A sense of fate pervades Summer from its opening on a bright June afternoon to its conclusion months later in the cold autumn moonlight. Like the succulent summer landscape in the Berkshires around them, Charitys romance is lush and picturesque, but its consequences are harsh and real. Praised for its realism and candor by such writers as Joseph Conrad and Henry James and compared to Flauberts Madame Bovary, Summer was one of Whartons personal favorites of all her novels and remains as fresh and relevant today as when it was first written. Reader Grace Conlin distinguishes both mens and womens voices easily, using hushed, intimate tones to convey the sweetness of the romance. Yet an ephemeral quality in her delivery casts a shadow of reality on the story and reminds the listener that seasons change. An AudioFile Earphones Award winner. AudioFile