That Summer: A Novel

Written by Lauren Willig

Narrated by Nicola Barber

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 ½ 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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Audio
• Release date: Jun 3, 2014
• ISBN: 9781427251756

Lauren Willig

Lauren Willig is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Band of Sisters and Two Wars and a Wedding, plus four popular historical novels cowritten with Beatriz Williams and Karen White. An alumna of Yale University, she has a graduate degree in history from Harvard and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. She lives in New York City with her husband, two young children, and lots and lots of coffee.

Reviews for That Summer

[knittingmomof3 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I truly liked the idea of this book, however two time periods (I like that), but both with romances proved to be too close to my definition of "chick lit" with a historical twist. Please read other reviews as I believe I am in the minority. That Summer by Lauren Willig simply is not a genre I enjoy.

[pattylee-621744 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Nicely done split narration between past and present and a mystery.

[mickyfine · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In 2009, Julia Conley has been struggling with finding work in the wake of losing her finance job in the 2008 recession. When she receives word that she's inherited a large house in England from her great-aunt she plans to spend only the summer there cleaning it up and preparing to sell it. In 1849, Imogen Grantham has spent nearly a decade trapped in a loveless marriage when she meets an up and coming painter named Gavin Thorne.A case of two narratives intertwining and mirroring each other in two different places with great effect. Both storylines are well done with the historical content never feeling too modern. All of the characters are compelling and I never spent time wishing more page time for one narrative arc over another. While the endings aren't particularly surprising, they're well-crafted and I enjoyed my time with them. Recommended to fans of historical fiction, those who enjoy books about art/artists, Anglophiles, and family drama lovers.

[icewineanne · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A fun summer beach read.

[electablue · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I much preferred this to Lauren Willig's Pink Carnation book. I always enjoy a good story that switches between a story told in the past and one in the present. Some parts of it, most particularly the story line beginning in 1839 reminds me of the gothic feeling of Victoria Holt's books that I loved as a teenager.

[icepacklady · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I received an Advance Reading Copy from a giveaway on Good reads. I had trouble bouncing back and forth between the old and the new, plus learning Julia's mother's story in - between. If the chapters had been split up differently I might have stood a chance maybe. Probably a good story in there, I just couldn't follow it well enough.

[nyiper · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another audio that was fine to listen to---while I did something else.

[elizabeth.b.bevins · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a dual time line story set in both 2009 and 1849. In 2009 a young woman inherits a home in England full of unknown family history. In 1849 in the same home another young woman is struggling with marriage to a cold older man. The two stories are tied together by a mysterious pre-Raphaelite painting.

I enjoyed the 1849 story line much more than the 2009 one. I was frustrated with the protagonist's seeming lack of direction or drive or even enthusiasm about her situation. If Goodreads allowed half stars I would bump this up to 3 1/2 stars. I did enjoy it and would recommend it especially if you enjoy historical fiction. This would make a great book for a light readers book club.

I received a free copy of this book from BookReporter.Com

[cewtypye · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I just finished That Summer: A Novel and wanted to share my review this week for you! This book has two plots and time periods running at the same time.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! When she finally returns this house has been in need of serious cleaning & maintenance. She quickly gets set to work and fixes up things to hopefully list this property with the help of her cosine Natalie and friend Nick. What will this ancient house of mysteries and antiques leave around for her to find?1849: Imogen met the "love of her life" and was swept away to her new like with Aurther. After years of neglect and being alone she is trapped in a loveless marriage. She ponders her time until she meets a young painter. Hired to paint a portiat of her they develop a friendship. Each week Gavin comes to sketch her and converse. Over time they develop a relationship that leads to her being with child. She then has to decide whether to stay with her unloving husband or leave with her lover Gavin.This book is a historical & artistic! I found it easy to follow and didn't want to put it down once I started reading it. I would recommend this read to a beginner and add to a Summer Book list!

[muddyboy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Two love affairs one hundred fifty years apart. Julie Conley inherits a home in England from her aunt and when she journeys there to claim it she becomes involved in unraveling the mysteries of the homes' former tenants. She finds a painting that was hidden in a closet for years and uses it and other clues to figure out about the lives and loves of those who came before. She also finds an unexpected relationship for herself that very Summer. An easy pleasant romantic read.

[nbmars · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book employs some tropes currently very popular - there are two sets of couples, one in the past and one in the future, who are tied together in some way that becomes more clear as the story progresses; each couple goes through similar relationship arcs; and the narrative goes back and forth between the two time periods.Most of this story takes place in the same Gothic house in Herne Hill, a district in south London, England. In the summer of 2009, Julia Conley discovers she has inherited this house from an aunt she barely remembers. In the summer of 1849, Imogen Grantham is a young, neglected wife feeling trapped in that same house. Both women are living lives mostly devoid of emotional connection, in Julia’s case by choice, and in Imogen’s case by circumstance. But that summer, each of them is awakened in ways they never dreamed possible. But the barriers to fulfillment, especially for Imogen - a woman in the mid-19th Century - are formidable.Discussion: There are some nice turns of prose in the book, such as this description of Gavin, a painter, trying to capture the enigmatic character of Imogen:His fingers itched to crumple the sketches on his easel and start again. A dozen Mrs. Granthams stared out at him in red and black chalk: Mrs. Grantham cold, Mrs. Grantham haughty, Mrs. Grantham wistful, Mrs. Grantham wary, but nowhere was there the slightest hint of amusement. He felt as though he were looking at a palimpsest, a medieval manuscript over-written in crisscrossed layers until he original message was all but lost beneath the confusion of text.”There are also some good passages in which passion is voiced, but not acted out, making it all the more steamy for the lack of fulfillment.One complaint, however, is that Willig uses the racist term “gyp” - in the 2009 section no less, to denote “cheating.” "Gyp" is commonly thought to be short for “gypsy”, and long used as an ethnic slur for the Romany people who immigrated from Eastern Europe. The term plays off the common stereotype of Gypsies as sneaky, thieving con artists. There is no indication the character would knowingly use such a term; it seems more a case of an author who is not aware.Evaluation: I didn’t get as engaged with the characters as I have in books with similar dual constructions, although I can’t articulate why. But I did feel plenty of heartbreak over the situation of women in trouble in the 19th Century; they had so little recourse. As much as women still experience disparities, thank heavens we truly have come a long way (at least in some countries).

[unreachableshelf · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This review is based on a free e-galley received from the publisher that will eventually expire, and which I will then miss greatly.That Summer is a gothic time slip novel, traveling between 1849 and 2009. I'd say it is not, strictly speaking, a romance novel, for reasons that I will not go into for fear of spoilers. Honestly, I did not The most intense aspect of the book for me were the mysteries. What might the modern heroine find in the house? What exactly would happen to the 19th century lovers? I did not love the historical portion of the book quite as much as I did The Ashford Affair, mostly because aside from Imogene and Gavin, the characters seemed more thinly drawn, nor does Imogen seem to have a significant relationship (even a significantly complicated relationship) with anybody but Gavin once the book is truly underway. However, the modern heroine, Julia, and the modern supporting characters seemed more complex. Between them and wondering how everything would end, I had a lot of trouble putting this book down at the end of my breaks at work.

[elizabethbevins · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a dual time line story set in both 2009 and 1849. In 2009 a young woman inherits a home in England full of unknown family history. In 1849 in the same home another young woman is struggling with marriage to a cold older man. The two stories are tied together by a mysterious pre-Raphaelite painting.I enjoyed the 1849 story line much more than the 2009 one. I was frustrated with the protagonist's seeming lack of direction or drive or even enthusiasm about her situation. If Goodreads allowed half stars I would bump this up to 3 1/2 stars. I did enjoy it and would recommend it especially if you enjoy historical fiction. This would make a great book for a light readers book club. I received a free copy of this book from BookReporter.Com

[seeword · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I received this book as an ARC from the publisher.Julia Conley was born in England, but she remembers little of her life there. She and her father moved to New York shortly after a tragic auto accident that killed her mother and injured the six-year-old Julia. Julia has occasional nightmares about the accident but she pushes them to the back of her mind. Her father, now remarried with a second family, has always been reluctant to talk about life before New York and Julia rarely presses him.In 2009 Julia, now an adult, inherits a house near London from an aunt she barely remembers. Julia is at a crossroads in her life. She lost her job in finance because of the economic conditions, she is not in any kind of serious relationship, and she feels a little out of place in her father’s second family. So she heads off to England to see what the house is and what she needs to do about it.From the time she steps into the front garden, she begins to have vague memories. The images sharpen as she spends more time in the house, which seems to have some sort of mystery about it. Perhaps, according to her English cousins, there is a treasure of some kind.Julia’s story is told alternately with the story of her ancestor Imogene Grantham who lived in the house in the 1840’s. As Julia uncovers diaries, paintings, and, well, other things (I don’t want to spoil) the story of Imogene unfolds. As she discovers the secrets of her house, Julia also makes discoveries about herself, her father, and what happened to their family when she was a child.Of course, this being a romantic novel, both Imogene and Julia find love.This style of telling two stories divided by time has varying degrees of effectiveness. I like Lauren Willig’s treatment of it. She reveals Imogene’s story in a way that the reader eventually knows more about it than Julia and her contemporaries ever know. Julia doesn’t discover something that tells the whole story and that is fine, more realistic than her having the more filled out picture that the reader has.A satisfying read with a little art history (Pre-Raphaelite) as background.

[lauriebrown54 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

‘That Summer’ takes place in two times: 2009 and 1849 (with some brief interludes in earlier years). In 2009, Julia in New York has just inherited an old family house from her great aunt Regina- a woman she doesn’t even remember. Jobless, she decides to go see the house in England and put it in shape for a quick sale. She has family there; some cousins who believe the house should have gone to them and are very eager to help Julia sort through the piles of old things in the house, even bringing in an antiques dealer, Nicholas to value things. Back in 1849, Imogene is living in a loveless marriage. In her teens she married Arthur Grantham, an older man, who she thought loved her but seems to have only collected her like he’s collected so many other things. His late wife’s sister runs the house; she has no friends. The only light in her life is her step-daughter, Evie. The only light, that is, until three of the pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood come by to look at Grantham’s collection of medieval things, searching for inspiration for their art. Imogene meets Gavin Thorne, the quietest of the trio, and finds he actually talks to her, rather than just seeing her as decoration. At this same time, 16 year old Evie meets Augustus Fotheringay-Vaughn, who seems very taken with her. The third artist is Dante Gabriel Rossetti, one of the PRB founders. These meetings set the rest of the story into motion; the story will have dire effects. The story jumps back and forth between eras as Imogene’s tale unfolds and Julie strives to solve the mysteries that the house presents- and that the people who come to the house present. It’s a combination historical mystery and romance, and it’s quite well done and has an edge to it. Most romances make me cringe, but this one was handled realistically and with a minimum of “I don’t like yous” going on between the prospective lovers. Some events are foreshadowed but there are surprises, too. An interesting book that would make a good read during a fall evening.

[cathyskye · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I've been a fan of Gothic novels since I was barely into my teens. For me, it wasn't the romance of the story, but the (often) spooky mansion and the treasures it almost always had tucked away. I must've been in the perfect mood for a return to the Gothic because I fell into That Summer and sank with scarcely a trace.The old house, Herne Hill, comes up trumps in Willig's story. It's chock-a-block with all sorts of treasures, and when Julia attempts to discover what that big old piece of furniture is hiding, her channeling Nancy Drew and muttering about "the mystery of the old wardrobe" made me laugh. The alternating timelines are also well done. Usually one timeline will be much stronger than the other, but not here. There's too much that needs explanation in Julia's past for it to take a backseat, although I will admit that the 1849 story concerning the always fascinating Pre-Raphaelites does have a tiny bit of an edge.There are a few stock characters in That Summer; it's hard not to have them in a Gothic novel, but they are limited to a couple of minor characters. The pairs of lovers (or wannabes)-- Imogen and Gavin, Julia and Nicholas-- come close to being perfect. It's fun to read and attempt to deduce the motivations for their behavior. The romance aspect is also very well done: there's enough for romance readers to sigh happily and wish for a little more while not antagonizing those who prefer little-to-no throbbing hearts in their fiction.Humor, romance, a good brush with creepy characters and situations now and again, secret hiding places, art treasures, and an old house with a story to tell.... If you're in the mood, then I know the book to recommend: Lauren Willig's That Summer.