Summary of The Summer Before the War: by Helen Simonson | Includes Analysis

By Instaread Summaries

Summary of The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson | Includes Analysis

 

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The Summer Before the War is a novel that follows the inhabitants of a small English town through the onset of World War I. Its protagonist, Beatrice Nash, is a young woman who was rec

• Language: English
• Publisher: Instaread, Inc
• Release date: May 12, 2016
• ISBN: 9781683780502

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Summary

The Summer Before the War is a novel that follows the inhabitants of a small English town through the onset of World War I. Its protagonist, Beatrice Nash, is a young woman who was recently orphaned. In the summer of 1914, she moves to Rye to escape the clutches of the oppressive relatives who administer her inheritance. Over the next few months, as she establishes herself as a Latin teacher, the war slowly drains the town of its vitality. Through Rye’s decline, despite hardships and sadness, Beatrice undergoes a period of positive personal growth.

On the evening of Beatrice’s arrival in Rye, Agatha Kent and her nephews, Hugh Grange and Daniel Bookham, are at home awaiting their guest. Agatha is eager to meet the teacher she has championed in the face of the hiring committee’s reluctance to hire a woman. Hugh is in a dreamy frame of mind, thinking of Lucy Ramsey, a woman he’s pining for. Daniel is talking about his passion for poetry. Though she’s intimidated by her hosts, Beatrice takes to them immediately, matching Hugh and Daniel’s banter and Agatha’s candor.

After staying at the Kents’ for the first evening, Beatrice moves into the cottage where she’ll be lodging. Beatrice meets Agatha’s close friends, Mr. Tillingham, a famous writer, and Lady Emily Wheaton, who was instrumental in Beatrice’s hire. She also begins to tutor three local boys. Just a few days after her arrival, she gets a piece of bad news: the mayor’s