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The Last Summer: Spain 1936
A boy and a horse share adventures during the Spanish Civil War.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
151 pages, Library Binding
First published January 1, 1979
9 people want to read
About the author
Helen Griffiths
44 books13 followersAlthough Helen Griffiths retired from writing junior fiction some 30 years ago, her books are still being read by fans and new readers in various parts of the world, perhaps because the themes are timeless and therefore don't date.
She wrote her first "story" with chalk on a school slate when she was 5 years old; was awarded the Matthew Arnold Memorial Prize (given only every 3 years to a London school child) when she was 12, and had her first book published at age 17. This was "Horse in the Clouds" which immediately became an international success. She was commended by the prestigious Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medal Awards for "The Wild Horse of Santander"; received the Dutch Silver Pencil Award for "Witch Fear" (voted the best children's book of the year in Holland), and was given the honorary title of "Daughter of Mark Twain" for her only adult novel, "The Dark Swallows".
Most of her books have been published throughout Europe and in the USA, as well as in countries as diverse as Argentina, Iceland and Israel, while "Witch Fear" ("The Mysterious Appearance of Agnes" in USA) still sells in Germany ("Hoxentochter").
While busily producing a new title every year, Helen also produced 3 daughters who have since provided her with 13 grandchildren and, more recently, 3 great grandchildren.
Born in London, brought up in West Yorkshire, and living some 20 years in Spain before finally settling in Bath, a city totally unknown to her before her arrival there, these very different places forged her writing career as well as her character. She has worked as a cow girl, a secretary, a teacher of English as a foreign language among other things, as well as writing books and being a wife and mother. In Spain she was always rescuing street dogs; in Bath she somehow managed to acquire as many as 5 horses (looked after by her daughters). One of her best-loved books, and which received many fan letters from young readers, was "Just a Dog", a partially true story of how Shadow became a much loved member of the family and who eventually was brought to Bath because of her astonishing faithfulness and intuition.
Her husband's sudden death in a car crash while the children were still young brought Helen back to England, and it was in Bath that she became a Christian, giving her a totally new life. She has written several books for a Christian publisher under her married name - Helen Santos - which have also been published internationally. But, this apart, for some 15 years she has had a teaching/preaching ministry and her sermons, if published, would doubtless fill a dozen books.
Helen was invited to write an autobiographical sketch which appeared in the series "Something About the Author, Vol 5", published by Gale Research Co., Michigan, where a more detailed biography can be found. She now has the company of 2 little dogs, as well as regular visits from grandchildren who have persuaded her to republish some of her most popular titles as e-books.
"The Greyhound" and "The Dark Swallows" are now available on Kindle and Amazon, the cover artist being one of her granddaughters, and "The Last Summer" is in preparation.
She wrote "The Dark Swallows" while she was very young, basing the main plot on a true story told to her by a next-door neighbour about her mother and brothers during and after the Spanish Civil War. Before republishing many years later, she felt some revision was needed. The story is the same but she trusts that anyone re-reading it might find it enhanced by the revisions, while new readers might be satisfied.
She can be contacted at: jolly.santos@gmail.com
She wrote her first "story" with chalk on a school slate when she was 5 years old; was awarded the Matthew Arnold Memorial Prize (given only every 3 years to a London school child) when she was 12, and had her first book published at age 17. This was "Horse in the Clouds" which immediately became an international success. She was commended by the prestigious Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medal Awards for "The Wild Horse of Santander"; received the Dutch Silver Pencil Award for "Witch Fear" (voted the best children's book of the year in Holland), and was given the honorary title of "Daughter of Mark Twain" for her only adult novel, "The Dark Swallows".
Most of her books have been published throughout Europe and in the USA, as well as in countries as diverse as Argentina, Iceland and Israel, while "Witch Fear" ("The Mysterious Appearance of Agnes" in USA) still sells in Germany ("Hoxentochter").
While busily producing a new title every year, Helen also produced 3 daughters who have since provided her with 13 grandchildren and, more recently, 3 great grandchildren.
Born in London, brought up in West Yorkshire, and living some 20 years in Spain before finally settling in Bath, a city totally unknown to her before her arrival there, these very different places forged her writing career as well as her character. She has worked as a cow girl, a secretary, a teacher of English as a foreign language among other things, as well as writing books and being a wife and mother. In Spain she was always rescuing street dogs; in Bath she somehow managed to acquire as many as 5 horses (looked after by her daughters). One of her best-loved books, and which received many fan letters from young readers, was "Just a Dog", a partially true story of how Shadow became a much loved member of the family and who eventually was brought to Bath because of her astonishing faithfulness and intuition.
Her husband's sudden death in a car crash while the children were still young brought Helen back to England, and it was in Bath that she became a Christian, giving her a totally new life. She has written several books for a Christian publisher under her married name - Helen Santos - which have also been published internationally. But, this apart, for some 15 years she has had a teaching/preaching ministry and her sermons, if published, would doubtless fill a dozen books.
Helen was invited to write an autobiographical sketch which appeared in the series "Something About the Author, Vol 5", published by Gale Research Co., Michigan, where a more detailed biography can be found. She now has the company of 2 little dogs, as well as regular visits from grandchildren who have persuaded her to republish some of her most popular titles as e-books.
"The Greyhound" and "The Dark Swallows" are now available on Kindle and Amazon, the cover artist being one of her granddaughters, and "The Last Summer" is in preparation.
She wrote "The Dark Swallows" while she was very young, basing the main plot on a true story told to her by a next-door neighbour about her mother and brothers during and after the Spanish Civil War. Before republishing many years later, she felt some revision was needed. The story is the same but she trusts that anyone re-reading it might find it enhanced by the revisions, while new readers might be satisfied.
She can be contacted at: jolly.santos@gmail.com
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 9, 2022
My sixth-grade teacher read a book (A Wild Heart by Helen Griffiths) to the class that always stuck with me. In my search for that book I came across The Last Summer at my local library.
It's a story about a boy separated from his family in the middle of a civil war-torn Spain and the adventures he shares with a very unique horse. I like this author. The dialogue between characters and the boy's inner-thoughts come across very naturally, where many YA books feel forced and unrealistic. She strikes a great balance between describing the horrors of war without giving kids nightmares. Also, even though I don't know too much about horses, I really enjoyed all the horse "worship" in the book. I would recommend this book to boys and girls who love animals.
It's a story about a boy separated from his family in the middle of a civil war-torn Spain and the adventures he shares with a very unique horse. I like this author. The dialogue between characters and the boy's inner-thoughts come across very naturally, where many YA books feel forced and unrealistic. She strikes a great balance between describing the horrors of war without giving kids nightmares. Also, even though I don't know too much about horses, I really enjoyed all the horse "worship" in the book. I would recommend this book to boys and girls who love animals.
August 13, 2021
This book is INCREDIBLE, and the more I read works by Helen Griffiths, the more HOOKED I am! Think Romeo and Juliet taking place during the Spanish Civil War. This book has knocked a book (not sure which one) out of my TOP 5 ALL-TIME list. And that's huge. Bernardo and Elvira, two brothers on both sides of the conflict, and a mother who is forced to deal with all of the mess at the same time. Great book! THIS one should be in English Literature classes!
March 11, 2016
I liked this book. It kept my interest and gave me a connection to the lead character and his horse.
April 2, 2018
Now, I know that a book set during the Spanish Civil War is not exactly going to have a Hollywood ending. This is the war that produced Picasso's Guernica after all.
But I still wasn't expecting how horrible the events would be pictured in a kids' book. There are some books that make you wish someone had killed you before you read it. This is just such a book. Unless you want to read something very disturbing or want or need to know how crappy the Spanish Civil War was.
The main problem I had with this was how the main horse, Gaviota, was used. Not the bull fighting thing (which is bad enough in itself) but how she was used as a symbol of the old Spain and of the upper classes of Spain. She was turned from something beautiful, loyal and friendly into something nauseatingly repulsive. That's not fair to any horse -- even a fictional one. Horses are horses and not political animals.
I tried this because I loved Helen Griffith's The Wild Heart. Now I'm not sure I'll ever read another Helen Griffiths again. Not without a huge bottle of uppers, anyway.
I also did not care for Victor Ambrse's sloppy illustrations. I'm not a fan of his work, anyway since he makes everything ugly. He also did not read the text since he portrays Gaviota as grey-white while she is a dark grey with black points. The cover here was done by the much better artist Ruth Sanderson (of the 1970s reprint of Walter Farley's Black Stallion series) but she also portrays Gaviota as white.
But I still wasn't expecting how horrible the events would be pictured in a kids' book. There are some books that make you wish someone had killed you before you read it. This is just such a book. Unless you want to read something very disturbing or want or need to know how crappy the Spanish Civil War was.
The main problem I had with this was how the main horse, Gaviota, was used. Not the bull fighting thing (which is bad enough in itself) but how she was used as a symbol of the old Spain and of the upper classes of Spain. She was turned from something beautiful, loyal and friendly into something nauseatingly repulsive. That's not fair to any horse -- even a fictional one. Horses are horses and not political animals.
I tried this because I loved Helen Griffith's The Wild Heart. Now I'm not sure I'll ever read another Helen Griffiths again. Not without a huge bottle of uppers, anyway.
I also did not care for Victor Ambrse's sloppy illustrations. I'm not a fan of his work, anyway since he makes everything ugly. He also did not read the text since he portrays Gaviota as grey-white while she is a dark grey with black points. The cover here was done by the much better artist Ruth Sanderson (of the 1970s reprint of Walter Farley's Black Stallion series) but she also portrays Gaviota as white.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews