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Always in August
PASSION AND HATE...JEALOUSY AND VENGEANCE...WERE HIDDEN BEHIND THE GREAT WALLED ESTATE OF MENLO....
It was August again, and Gloria was returning to Menlo. Gloria, with her stunning beauty and vast wealth, who hungered for everything that belonged to Lucy - even Lucy's husband. Lucy could only wait in dread of what menace Gloria would unleash in this place of haunting beauty and mounting terror - of what evil she would bring to Lucy's life and to the man Lucy loved and knew she could not hold....
It was August again, and Gloria was returning to Menlo. Gloria, with her stunning beauty and vast wealth, who hungered for everything that belonged to Lucy - even Lucy's husband. Lucy could only wait in dread of what menace Gloria would unleash in this place of haunting beauty and mounting terror - of what evil she would bring to Lucy's life and to the man Lucy loved and knew she could not hold....
176 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 6, 1961
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46 people want to read
About the author
Ann Head
9 books10 followersWriter Ann Head, the pen name of Anne Wales Christensen Head Morse (1915–1968), was the granddaughter of AbbieHolmes Christensen, who came to Beaufort during the Civil War to educate the recently freed enslaved populations of the sea islands. Moving back and forth between Boston and Beaufort, Ann carried on the family tradition of bucking traditions and creating new literary forms.
Ann published dozens of short stories and serials in the major national magazines of her day, with many of her stories set in a small town just like Beaufort. She wrote of divorce, snobbery, affairs both emotional and sexual, prejudice, death, and out-of-wedlock childbirth, championing the nontypical heroines of the ladies magazines that eagerly accepted her work. In addition, she authored four novels which were published internationally, most notably Mr. and Mrs. Bo Jo Jones, a compelling story of teen pregnancy which was later adapted for film starring Desi Arnez Jr. and is credited with helping create the Young Adult genre.
Ann was also Pat Conroy’s first creative writing teacher at Beaufort High School and she became a central figure in Beaufort’s literary scene, befriending many of the famous authors who wintered here, including Samuel Hopkins Adams (whom she considered her mentor), Somerset Maugham, John Marquand, and Katherine and E. B. White.
In conservative Beaufort, Ann championed civil rights and other liberal causes, and was a doyenne of local society, celebrated for her sophistication and literary achievement. She managed to successfully raise an out-of-wedlock child, eventually marrying the child’s father, all the while staying respected and revered in small-town society. Ann died suddenly at the age of 52, cutting short a vibrant life and promising literary career.
Ann published dozens of short stories and serials in the major national magazines of her day, with many of her stories set in a small town just like Beaufort. She wrote of divorce, snobbery, affairs both emotional and sexual, prejudice, death, and out-of-wedlock childbirth, championing the nontypical heroines of the ladies magazines that eagerly accepted her work. In addition, she authored four novels which were published internationally, most notably Mr. and Mrs. Bo Jo Jones, a compelling story of teen pregnancy which was later adapted for film starring Desi Arnez Jr. and is credited with helping create the Young Adult genre.
Ann was also Pat Conroy’s first creative writing teacher at Beaufort High School and she became a central figure in Beaufort’s literary scene, befriending many of the famous authors who wintered here, including Samuel Hopkins Adams (whom she considered her mentor), Somerset Maugham, John Marquand, and Katherine and E. B. White.
In conservative Beaufort, Ann championed civil rights and other liberal causes, and was a doyenne of local society, celebrated for her sophistication and literary achievement. She managed to successfully raise an out-of-wedlock child, eventually marrying the child’s father, all the while staying respected and revered in small-town society. Ann died suddenly at the age of 52, cutting short a vibrant life and promising literary career.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 1, 2020
"It was August again. And as always in August tempers are frayed, nerve ends laid bare by the heat."
ALWAYS IN AUGUST is a Gothic Romance originally published in 1961. The story seems to take place around the time it was written, probably late 1950s, in the small coastal town of Royal Bay, South Carolina.
Lucy and Gloria were childhood friends, for a while. Gloria grew into a fiery and gorgeous young woman, while Lucy, though lovely, was level-headed and down to earth. Lucy had also been lifelong friends with the heir to Menlo Estate, a boy named Stark.
It was thought by all that Lucy and Stark would marry, until ruthless Gloria set her sights on him, and she always got what she wanted, especially if it was Lucy's first. After tragedy strikes and Gloria flees Royal Bay, Lucy falls in love with another.
"The bad things always happen in August. Whatever potential evil sleeps here, beneath the easy, gentle surface of our days, is nourished, brought to fruit in the heavy, fetid August air."
So, in August, years later, Gloria returns to Menlo, this time with the intention of stealing Lucy's husband. But Lucy knows the tragic secrets hidden within the grand estate, and she's not giving up without a fight.
I loved this book. The characters were well-crafted and memorable. Gloria was the perfect devious villain, while Lucy was easy to empathize with. You may or may not agree with her decisions, but I believe she did what she thought was best. The blurb makes the book sound so scary (menace! terror! evil!), but in reality ALWAYS IN AUGUST is a dramatic & gripping domestic suspense.
I read the 99¢ Kindle edition, which unfortunately is full of typos. I'm going to keep an eye out for an old paperback copy to add to my collection. (And, yay! I finished this review on the last day of August.)
ALWAYS IN AUGUST is a Gothic Romance originally published in 1961. The story seems to take place around the time it was written, probably late 1950s, in the small coastal town of Royal Bay, South Carolina.
Lucy and Gloria were childhood friends, for a while. Gloria grew into a fiery and gorgeous young woman, while Lucy, though lovely, was level-headed and down to earth. Lucy had also been lifelong friends with the heir to Menlo Estate, a boy named Stark.
It was thought by all that Lucy and Stark would marry, until ruthless Gloria set her sights on him, and she always got what she wanted, especially if it was Lucy's first. After tragedy strikes and Gloria flees Royal Bay, Lucy falls in love with another.
"The bad things always happen in August. Whatever potential evil sleeps here, beneath the easy, gentle surface of our days, is nourished, brought to fruit in the heavy, fetid August air."
So, in August, years later, Gloria returns to Menlo, this time with the intention of stealing Lucy's husband. But Lucy knows the tragic secrets hidden within the grand estate, and she's not giving up without a fight.
I loved this book. The characters were well-crafted and memorable. Gloria was the perfect devious villain, while Lucy was easy to empathize with. You may or may not agree with her decisions, but I believe she did what she thought was best. The blurb makes the book sound so scary (menace! terror! evil!), but in reality ALWAYS IN AUGUST is a dramatic & gripping domestic suspense.
I read the 99¢ Kindle edition, which unfortunately is full of typos. I'm going to keep an eye out for an old paperback copy to add to my collection. (And, yay! I finished this review on the last day of August.)
May 15, 2018
This book is responsible for my always feeling let down when I have my hair washed at the hairdresser, which is never the pleasant experience she describes.
March 2, 2008
I've never forgotten this story. Though I didn't like the way it ended, and I was so angry that the heroine forgave her husband, it's something that's stayed with me throughout the years. If you want to hate a character, then read this book. I guarantee you'll despise Gloria.
February 28, 2011
I think I read this book in middle school so basically a really long time ago. Then tried to find it again in high school because I could not get the story out of my head. If this is the same book I remember, the story obviously stays with you. If I had known I would still remember it after all this time, I would have "lost" the book and not returned it.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews