El Verano Antes de la Guerra / The Summer Before the War

The summer before the war : a novel
Bok av Helen Simonson
La luminosa historia de una familia, una ciudad y un mundo en sus últimos momentos de inocencia. «Una novela para curar la ausencia de Downton Abbey.».-The Washington Post El verano de 1914 es uno de los más bellos que se recuerdan en la idílica ciudad inglesa de Rye. Allí acaba de llegar Beatrice Nash con un gran baúl de libros, ansia de independencia y nuevas ideas que pocos en Rye asocian a una profesora de latín. En un descanso de sus estudios de medicina, Hugh Grange se encuentra también en la ciudad visitando a su tía Agatha, una verdadera institución local que se ha jugado su cuidadosamente construida reputación con la contratación de la joven maestra. Pero mientras Beatrice se prepara para descubrir una nueva vida, y quizá el amor, en esta pintoresca comunidad, el verano parece a punto de acabar y lo inimaginable está a punto de comenzar... ENGLISH DESCRIPTION NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ? "A novel to cure your Downton Abbey withdrawal . . . a delightful story about nontraditional romantic relationships, class snobbery and the everybody-knows-everybody complications of living in a small community."-The Washington Post The bestselling author of Major Pettigrew's Last Stand returns with a breathtaking novel of love on the eve of World War I that reaches far beyond the small English town in which it is set. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST AND NPR East Sussex, 1914. It is the end of England's brief Edwardian summer, and everyone agrees that the weather has never been so beautiful. Hugh Grange, down from his medical studies, is visiting his Aunt Agatha, who lives with her husband in the small, idyllic coastal town of Rye. Agatha's husband works in the Foreign Office, and she is certain he will ensure that the recent saber rattling over the Balkans won't come to anything. And Agatha has more immediate concerns; she has just risked her carefully built reputation by pushing for the appointment of a woman to replace the Latin master. When Beatrice Nash arrives with one trunk and several large crates of books, it is clear she is significantly more freethinking-and attractive-than anyone believes a Latin teacher should be. For her part, mourning the death of her beloved father, who has left her penniless, Beatrice simply wants to be left alone to pursue her teaching and writing. But just as Beatrice comes alive to the beauty of the Sussex landscape and the colorful characters who populate Rye, the perfect summer is about to end. For despite Agatha's reassurances, the unimaginable is coming. Soon the limits of progress, and the old ways, will be tested as this small Sussex town and its inhabitants go to war.
Sommaren 1914. Beatrice Nash, ung lärarinna i latin, anländer till East Sussex för att försöka starta en ny del i sitt liv efter att hennes far nyligen gått bort.

Beatrice är en stark, intelligent och fritt tänka kvinna med rapp tunga och snabb humor och det uppskattas inte av alla. Familjen Kent, med den starka Agatha i spetsen, blir ett stort stöd och Beatrice umgås mycket med Agathas syskonsöner Daniel och Hugh. Daniel är poet och Hugh är snart färdigutbildad kirurg och de får några varma, trevliga sommarmånader tillsammans innan kriget kryper närmare.

En berättelse om kärlek, om sorg, om människor och liv som förändras helt av krig men också en smårolig skildring av de intriger och konservativa karaktärer som finns i en småstad på den engelska landsbygden i början av förra seklet.