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Overview
A New York Times Bestseller and Notable Book
From the winner of the 1999 David Cohen British Literature Prize comes an unforgettably chilling novel, written with the compassion and artistry that define Trevor's fiction.
There were three deaths that summer. The first was Letitia’s, sudden and quite unexpected, leaving her husband, Thaddeus, haunted by the details of her last afternoon.
The next death came some weeks later, after Thaddeus’s mother-in-law helped him to interview for a nanny to bring up their baby. None of the applicants were suitable—least of all the last one, with her sharp features, her shabby clothes that reeked of cigarettes, her badly typed references—so Letitia’s mother moved herself in. But then, just as the household was beginning to settle down, the last of the nannies surprisingly returned, her unwelcome arrival heralding the third of the summer tragedies.
“William Trevor is an extraordinarily mellifluous writer, seemingly incapable of composing an ungraceful sentence. . . . His skill is very real, and equals his great compassion. With Death in Summer, these two qualities combine in a beautiful and resonant way.”—The New York Time Book Review
“Possibly the most perfect of Trevor’s novels . . . Astonishing.”—Los Angeles Times Book Review
“Beautifully paced and mesmerizing . . . Offering us a compelling mystery on many levels through . . . finely drawn, perfect glimpses of touchingly imperfect lives.”—The Washington Post Book World
Nominated for a Los Angeles Times Book Prize
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780140287820 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Penguin Publishing Group |
| Publication date: | 10/01/1999 |
| Pages: | 240 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.12(w) x 7.73(h) x 0.54(d) |
| Age Range: | 18 Years |
About the Author
Hometown:
Devon, EnglandDate of Birth:
May 24, 1928Place of Birth:
Mitchelstown, County Cork, IrelandEducation:
Trinity College, Dublin, 1950Read an Excerpt
DEATH IN SUMMER
by William Trevor
INTRODUCTION
William Trevor's fiction is inhabited by characters who suffer from an inner longing and desperation that is heartbreaking. In Death in Summer, his most emotionally resonant novel, Trevor's keen attention to the smallest detail and his subtle hand reveal the tragedy that comes with the inability to love.
Thaddeus Davenant is the last descendant of a distinguished English family and owner of Quincunx House. He has just lost his wife, Letitia, a person of "almost wayward generosity." Yet, despite her compassion and her "Piero della Francesca face," Thaddeus acknowledges that he was never able to really love Letitia. It is Georgina, their baby daughter, who receives all of Thaddeus's attention. He admits he married Letitia primarily out of financial necessity, his own family fortune long since gone. It is this deception, even more than Letitia's sudden death, which haunts Thaddeus throughout the novel.
When Thaddeus and Mrs. Iveson, his mother-in-law, begin interviewing for nannies to care for his infant daughter, their carefully manicured world is invaded by a series of coarse, unattractive young women. Pettie, the young girl who smells of cigarettes, proves unsuitable for the job, but develops an obsession with Thaddeus that will expose the frailties of both characters. Pettie, the product of the Morning Star, a grim institution for homeless children, latches onto Thaddeus, thinking of him as her salvation. The only affection Pettie has ever known came from her sexually abusive "Sunday Uncles" who visited the Morning Star on weekends.
We learn that Thaddeus was equally unloved as a child, ignored by his parents, and is therefore unable to feel love as an adult. Although their worlds could not be more different, Thaddeus and Pettie are both haunted by the same longing. Ironically, when Pettie's obsession drives her to steal Georgina from Quincunx House, their sole chance at understanding and redemption occurs. Thaddeus must allow himself to feel real emotion for the first time and submit to the incredible love he has for his own daughter; Pettie must return to the Morning Star, the origin of her troubles. It is the death she encounters there that will bring her freedom. And it is Albert, her only friend, a seemingly simple young man of unrivaled compassion and understanding, who will ultimately show all the characters in Death in Summer the most hidden human failings.
ABOUT WILLIAM TREVOR
William Trevor is the author of twenty-eight books, which include novels, short story collections, a play, a volume of memoir, and a children's tale. Among his many prizes are a 1996 Lannan Literary Award for Fiction. Two of his books were chosen by The New York Times as Best Books of the Year. His short stories appear regularly in The New Yorker.
AN INTERVIEW WITH WILLIAM TREVOR
In many of your novels, you show a real affinity for desperate, victimized women. Where does your capacity for understanding these women come from?
The capacity you're thinking of is imagination; without it there can be no understanding, indeed no fiction.
The image of motherhood is pervasive throughout your work, especially mothers who are inattentive or abusive. Why?
I value mothers and motherhood enormously. For every inattentive or abusive mother in my fiction I think you'll find a dozen or so who are neither.
In Death in Summer, there are several allusions to the Lindbergh kidnapping. Was this the inspiration for the story?
No. It's natural for anyone of a certain age who remembers hearing about the Lindbergh kidnapping to recall it when a baby disappears.
How do you believe your own childhood has influenced your writing?
There is an element of autobiography in all fiction in that pain or distress, or pleasure, is based on the author's own. But in my case that is as far as it goes. Descriptions of, for instance, physical pain have to be the author's own experience. He cannot know, exactly, how someone else has suffered in this way. Otherwise, I don't think my childhood—or later life—has had much influence on my writing.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- What is your impression of Letitia? What does her kindness toward Mrs. Ferry say about her character? Is she a saintly figure?
- How does the marriage of Zenobia and Maidment compare with that of Letitia and Thaddeus? Is it a more fully realized relationship?
- How does Thaddeus relate to women? Is his interest in them simply self-serving? Does he seem to have affection for either Mrs. Ferry or Letitia?
- What is Mrs. Iveson's opinion of her daughter's compassion? What does she mean when she says, "Letitia's innocence seems just a little remarkable now, and I wonder if the good are always innocent"? Is she being disdainful toward her daughter's memory?
- What is Pettie's attitude toward other women? We learn that she has been sexually abused by older men as a child. Why do you think she gravitates toward them?
- How does Trevor use lush, natural imagery to contrast the sparse existence of the characters that inhabit Quincunx House?
- What is your impression of Albert? What qualities does he share with Letitia? Why is his profession significant?
- After Georgina is taken, Thaddeus says that "A miracle it has seemed. . . Loving Georgina." What miracles have Georgina's birth and subsequent kidnapping brought about?
- How are Pettie and Thaddeus similar characters?
- Is Pettie's tragic death somehow redemptive? Could she have been saved?
Reading Group Guide
INTRODUCTION
William Trevor's fiction is inhabited by characters who suffer from an inner longing and desperation that is heartbreaking. InDeath in Summer, his most emotionally resonant novel, Trevor's keen attention to the smallest detail and his subtle hand reveal the tragedy that comes with the inability to love.
Thaddeus Davenant is the last descendant of a distinguished English family and owner of Quincunx House. He has just lost his wife, Letitia, a person of "almost wayward generosity." Yet, despite her compassion and her "Piero della Francesca face," Thaddeus acknowledges that he was never able to really love Letitia. It is Georgina, their baby daughter, who receives all of Thaddeus's attention. He admits he married Letitia primarily out of financial necessity, his own family fortune long since gone. It is this deception, even more than Letitia's sudden death, which haunts Thaddeus throughout the novel.
When Thaddeus and Mrs. Iveson, his mother-in-law, begin interviewing for nannies to care for his infant daughter, their carefully manicured world is invaded by a series of coarse, unattractive young women. Pettie, the young girl who smells of cigarettes, proves unsuitable for the job, but develops an obsession with Thaddeus that will expose the frailties of both characters. Pettie, the product of the Morning Star, a grim institution for homeless children, latches onto Thaddeus, thinking of him as her salvation. The only affection Pettie has ever known came from her sexually abusive "Sunday Uncles" who visited the Morning Star on weekends.
We learn that Thaddeus was equally unloved as a child, ignored by his parents, and is therefore unable to feel love as an adult. Although their worlds could not be more different, Thaddeus and Pettie are both haunted by the same longing. Ironically, when Pettie's obsession drives her to steal Georgina from Quincunx House, their sole chance at understanding and redemption occurs. Thaddeus must allow himself to feel real emotion for the first time and submit to the incredible love he has for his own daughter; Pettie must return to the Morning Star, the origin of her troubles. It is the death she encounters there that will bring her freedom. And it is Albert, her only friend, a seemingly simple young man of unrivaled compassion and understanding, who will ultimately show all the characters in Death in Summer the most hidden human failings.
ABOUT WILLIAM TREVOR
William Trevor is the author of twenty-eight books, which include novels, short story collections, a play, a volume of memoir, and a children's tale. Among his many prizes are a 1996 Lannan Literary Award for Fiction. Two of his books were chosen by The New York Times as Best Books of the Year. His short stories appear regularly in The New Yorker.
A CONVERSATION WITH WILLIAM TREVOR
In many of your novels, you show a real affinity for desperate, victimized women. Where does your capacity for understanding these women come from?
The capacity you're thinking of is imagination; without it there can be no understanding, indeed no fiction.
The image of motherhood is pervasive throughout your work, especially mothers who are inattentive or abusive. Why?
I value mothers and motherhood enormously. For every inattentive or abusive mother in my fiction I think you'll find a dozen or so who are neither.
In Death in Summer, there are several allusions to the Lindbergh kidnapping. Was this the inspiration for the story?
No. It's natural for anyone of a certain age who remembers hearing about the Lindbergh kidnapping to recall it when a baby disappears.
How do you believe your own childhood has influenced your writing?
There is an element of autobiography in all fiction in that pain or distress, or pleasure, is based on the author's own. But in my case that is as far as it goes. Descriptions of, for instance, physical pain have to be the author's own experience. He cannot know, exactly, how someone else has suffered in this way. Otherwise, I don't think my childhood—or later life—has had much influence on my writing.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS