Dragon Summer

by Ruth M. Arthur, Margery Gill (Illustrator)

The story of Kate, and the summer she spent in Cumberland as a girl - a summer that would affect the course of her life.

107 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

Working name of UK writer Ruth Mabel Arthur Huggins, long active as a children's author, her career beginning with Friendly Stories (collection, 1932). Most of her early work, like the Brownie sequence -- The Crooked Brownie (1936), The Crooked Brownie in Town (1942) and The Crooked Brownie at the Seaside (1942) -- is for younger children, but with Dragon Summer (1962) and A Candle in her Room (1966) she began to write the haunting fantasy-tinged adolescent novels for which she became best known. Often featuring first-person narratives spanning multiple generations filled with echoes of centuries past.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first of Ruth M. Arthur's books to be published in the United States, this short novel follows the story of Kate, moving backward and forward through time. It opens in the (then) present, as Kate, now an older woman, prepares to purchase Stone House, the small cottage where she spent the best summer of her life. The narrative then reverts to the past of her youth, to the incredible summer she spent in Cumberland as a young girl, a summer that affected the entire course of her life...

This gentle story is notable in that the heroine does not end up with the young man she loves, but still manages to live a happy life. The author's central theme - of the connections between the present and the past - does figure in this novel, although it is less developed than in her later books. Although I am a great fan of Ruth M. Arthur, and did enjoy this book, I gave it four stars because I felt that it lacked some of the narrative smoothness and emotional power of her later works.

[Melody · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet little story about a girl and the summer that shaped her life. There's a gentle ghost, and a gentle love affair, and a gentle aunt. Well, you get the picture. A lot of the plots (and even the names) that Arthur would revisit more successfully in later works are in evidence here. If this had been the only book Arthur ever wrote, I would have loved it fiercely. As it is, it's more of a curiosity, something to read if you're a Ruth M. Arthur completist, but certainly not her best.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book as a teen. I think the reason is that it begins with an adult returning to purchase a home remembered from her past. It continues to reminisce about the summer she spent there as a child. In my youth I fantasized about how things would be when I grew up. It often looked like this woman's life with a cozy cottage in the country. It is a good story with a gentle ghost and a wonderful cozy atmosphere.

[Ivonne Rovira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dragon Summer was one of my very, very favorite books as a child. Imagine my delight when I found it for sale on Amazon. I promptly bought the book for my own children, and the book has lost none of its magic.

[sandra colley]

I had this book as a Christmas gift when I was a child. I loved it. And I still read it now every so often

[Timothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet story set in the English countryside about a young girl's trans formative summer. I think it could still be read and appreciated by a younger audience, even though it doesn't have any "edge" or push any boundaries. There is a supernatural element--a ghost--in the plot, and I'm very torn about it. In some ways it felt unnecessary, but in other ways it played a symbolic role. The use of the symbolism left me dissatisfied with the ending.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rather slight, gentle, charming story of an idyllic summer 3 children/young adults spend in Cumberland, England. Set approximately in the 1930s/40s. A bit of mystery, a bit of the supernatural, in this story of friendship and coming of age.

[Jossalyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

love this author. discovered her when I had the ambition to read all the titles in the children's section of the library and started at A. love the Margery Gill illustrations about as much as the books.

[Buffy Joseph · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very disappointing for a Ruth M Arthur book. It was a very simple book, and short. Nothing wrong with it, but nothing really happens either. I thought it was geared to a much younger audience - maybe 8 or 9?