The Summer Before the War

From the bestselling author of Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, this is a witty, heart-warming and profoundly moving story of an unexpected heroine and an unassuming village, caught up in an unimaginable war.
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 sabre 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 free thinking – 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 colourful characters that 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.

Praise for Major Pettigrew's Last Stand:
'Words cannot convey the slow-burning pleasure' The Times'A beautiful little love story' Alexander McCall Smith'Funny, barbed, delightfully winsome storytelling … It’s about intelligence, heart, dignity and backbone' New York Times'In the noisy world of today it is a delight to find a novel that dares to assert itself quietly but with the lovely rhythm of Helen Simonson’s funny, comforting, and intelligent debut' Elizabeth Strout, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Olive Kitteridge