That Summer: A Novel

Lauren Willig

Jun 2014 · Macmillan + ORM

About this ebook

From modern-day England to the early days of the Preraphaelite movement, Lauren Willig's That Summer takes readers on an unputdownable journey through a mysterious old house, a hidden love affair, and one woman's search for the truth about her past—and herself.

"Willig reaches deep into her characters' souls to depict tragedy, triumph and the depth of love." —RT Book Reviews (4 1⁄2 stars)

2009: When Julia Conley hears that she has inherited a house outside London from an unknown great-aunt, she assumes it's a joke. She hasn't been back to England since the car crash that killed her mother when she was six, an event she remembers only in her nightmares. But when she arrives at Herne Hill to sort through the house—with the help of her cousin Natasha and sexy antiques dealer Nicholas—bits of memory start coming back. And then she discovers a pre-Raphaelite painting, hidden behind the false back of an old wardrobe, and a window onto the house's shrouded history begins to open...

1849: Imogen Grantham has spent nearly a decade trapped in a loveless marriage to a much older man, Arthur. The one bright spot in her life is her step-daughter, Evie, a high-spirited sixteen year old who is the closest thing to a child Imogen hopes to have. But everything changes when three young painters come to see Arthur's collection of medieval artifacts, including Gavin Thorne, a quiet man with the unsettling ability to read Imogen better than anyone ever has. When Arthur hires Gavin to paint her portrait, none of them can guess what the hands of fate have set in motion.

Ratings and reviews

Seemingly out of the blue, Julia Conley inherits a house outside London from an unknown great aunt. Having previously been laid off from her job as as an analyst at a securities firm, the former art history major has no reason not to journey to England to sort through the old house and its contents before selling it off. No reason, that is, than confronting her repressed memories from her early childhood when she lived there before a car accident claimed her mother's life and nearly killed her as well. Julia claims not to remember anything from that period of her life, but when she and her long lost cousin, Natasha and friend, sexy art dealer Nicholas, begin sorting through the house, memories begin bubbling to the surface. And when Julia discovers a pre-Raphaelite painting hidden behind the false back of an old wardrobe, it stokes the embers of curiosity about her family's history into full flame. In 1849, Imogen Grantham, trapped in a loveless marriage and virtually ignored by her much older husband, Arthur, meets Gavin Thorne when he is hired to paint her portrait. The two find they are kindred spirits, but can Imogen risk her position to explore her passion for Gavin? Can Gavin risk incurring Arthur's wrath by dallying with his wife when Arthur can crush the struggling artist's career with just a word spoken in the right ears of the power Academy? Will Imogen allow Gavin to risk it all for her? Will events spin out of Imogen and Gavin's control? This novel was a little slow to start, but once it got going, I was held rapt by Gavin and Imogen's story, and then later by Julia and Nick's as well. The writing is spellbinding and fluid, despite the fact that the story keeps bouncing back between the past and the present. I thought that it would seem disjointed, but it somehow makes perfect narrative sense. This is a fantastic novel for anyone who loves historic fiction and the arts.

Not my favorite from her, but it had some redeeming qualities.

Good

About the author

LAUREN WILLIG is also the author of the New York Times bestselling Pink Carnation series and a RITA Award-winner for Best Regency Historical for The Mischief of the Mistletoe. A graduate of Yale University, she has a graduate degree in English history from Harvard and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. She lives in New York City, where she now writes full time.