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The Summer House
Drawn to the dynamic Dunstan family when they arrive in the Lake District to build a mansion, fifteen-year old Chrissie Ascham travels to Venice with them the summer before the Great War and encounters not only a sensual awakening but also tragedy and betrayal.
- GenresRomanceFictionHistorical
309 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1997
1 person is currently reading
34 people want to read
About the author
Alison McLeay
16 books5 followers ALISON McLeay was an author with a special flair for historical and romantic fiction. Formerly a distinguished freelance radio presenter and producer with the BBC, she began writing in the mid-Seventies and went on to achieve a remarkable international readership throughout Europe and the United States, where she entered the bestseller lists.
After Dundee High School, where she was English dux, McLeay studied English and medieval history at St Andrews University.
While a student at Scotland's oldest university, she was a founder member of the biennial St Andrews Festival of Arts -organised and administered solely by students and, as such, unique in Europe - which became recognised as one of the principal international winter festivals in the country, although eventually folding during the Nineties.
After graduating from St Andrews, she went on to Glasgow University to complete a postgraduate course in radio drama, before joining the staff of the BBC.
She later became a freelance with BBC Radio in a wide variety of live morning programmes on Radio Scotland, on occasion presenting and producing Woman's Hour and Kaleidoscope, and also writing drama productions.
On her marriage to Simon Martin, a former journalist and salvage diver, in 1980, she returned to St Andrews where she was to live for the rest of her life. The couple set up and operated the town's first wine bar, and later a cookshop.
Her first book, The World of The Onedin Line, about the real-life seamen's world behind the popular television series, was published in 1977. "I kept trying to reassure myself that I had a book in me, until one day I bunged the manuscript down to a publisher and within a week I had an acceptance."
Her second book, Tobermory Treasure, which appeared in 1986, told the story of the Spanish Armada ship wrecked off Mull with its fabulous cargo worth $30 million. Such was her meticulous attention to detail in the research for her books that she learned to dive to join the salvage team involved with the Spanish galleon. She also scripted and produced a Radio 4 feature on the 400-year search for the vessel.
But it was not until the publication of her first novel, The Wayward Tide, in 1990, that McLeay became a formidable player in the literary market for historical romance. The book became an instant best-seller, and was labelled "the most stunning fiction debut in years" by Publishers' Weekly in America, where the first print run reached an astonishing 100,000 copies. The Wayward Tide was published in ten different languages.
The sea, travel and the lure of distant lands, played a central role in her tales of love and life. Her second novel, Sweet Exile, set in New Orleans and the Fens in England, followed soon afterwards. Her next, The Dream Maker, was set in Hudson's Bay. This was followed by After Shanghai and The Summer House, the paperback of which is due to be published later this month. Her recent works have proved to be particularly popular in France and Germany.
McLeay travelled to many parts of the world to carry out research for her books. "If you are going to have the feel of the place, you have to go there," she once said. Her other interests included cooking, gardening, painting, collages and reading.
Alison McLeay is survived by her husband and their 12-year-old son, Richard.
- Source: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi...
After Dundee High School, where she was English dux, McLeay studied English and medieval history at St Andrews University.
While a student at Scotland's oldest university, she was a founder member of the biennial St Andrews Festival of Arts -organised and administered solely by students and, as such, unique in Europe - which became recognised as one of the principal international winter festivals in the country, although eventually folding during the Nineties.
After graduating from St Andrews, she went on to Glasgow University to complete a postgraduate course in radio drama, before joining the staff of the BBC.
She later became a freelance with BBC Radio in a wide variety of live morning programmes on Radio Scotland, on occasion presenting and producing Woman's Hour and Kaleidoscope, and also writing drama productions.
On her marriage to Simon Martin, a former journalist and salvage diver, in 1980, she returned to St Andrews where she was to live for the rest of her life. The couple set up and operated the town's first wine bar, and later a cookshop.
Her first book, The World of The Onedin Line, about the real-life seamen's world behind the popular television series, was published in 1977. "I kept trying to reassure myself that I had a book in me, until one day I bunged the manuscript down to a publisher and within a week I had an acceptance."
Her second book, Tobermory Treasure, which appeared in 1986, told the story of the Spanish Armada ship wrecked off Mull with its fabulous cargo worth $30 million. Such was her meticulous attention to detail in the research for her books that she learned to dive to join the salvage team involved with the Spanish galleon. She also scripted and produced a Radio 4 feature on the 400-year search for the vessel.
But it was not until the publication of her first novel, The Wayward Tide, in 1990, that McLeay became a formidable player in the literary market for historical romance. The book became an instant best-seller, and was labelled "the most stunning fiction debut in years" by Publishers' Weekly in America, where the first print run reached an astonishing 100,000 copies. The Wayward Tide was published in ten different languages.
The sea, travel and the lure of distant lands, played a central role in her tales of love and life. Her second novel, Sweet Exile, set in New Orleans and the Fens in England, followed soon afterwards. Her next, The Dream Maker, was set in Hudson's Bay. This was followed by After Shanghai and The Summer House, the paperback of which is due to be published later this month. Her recent works have proved to be particularly popular in France and Germany.
McLeay travelled to many parts of the world to carry out research for her books. "If you are going to have the feel of the place, you have to go there," she once said. Her other interests included cooking, gardening, painting, collages and reading.
Alison McLeay is survived by her husband and their 12-year-old son, Richard.
- Source: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi...
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 15, 2015
I loved the story, the characters, the way she writes, everything about the book.
June 12, 2018
Ich fand es interessant, über das Leben im ländlichen England vor dem 1. Weltkrieg zu lesen. Über die Gepflogenheiten, die Standesunterschiede, die politische Dynamik die damals entstand. Die Liebesgeschichte war für mich eher nur mittelmäßig spannend.
October 8, 2011
Alison McLeay was such an amazing author. Saldy she passed away in the 90's but not before she wrote a handful of wonderful books. The Summer House is an amazing contemporary book. Not for everyone but for me it was captivating and haunting in a good way. It was one of those books that you thought about for days after finishing it. Really enjoyed this one.
November 26, 2017
This is why I love "Returned today" shelves at libraries, otherwise me and this book might have never met. It was published 20 years ago, back then I was still reading mainly YA books. And I had never heard about the author either. But now I've read Summer House, and I really liked it! English Lake District, early 1900's and romance - my kind of book :)
February 14, 2011
This was a much deeper, darker book than I expected. I could almost see it on Masterpiece Theater.
July 2, 2021
Just a few years ago I purely by chance stumbled across Dark Passage aka The Wayward Tide, by the late Alison McLeay, to discover she had a true gift for writing adventure and historical romance. When I have wanted to escape into the twists and turns of a thrilling, well written, adventure novel with interesting characters her work has never disappointed me yet.
September 3, 2008
This was such a cute and definitely a great book! I found it great how it had the will power in all kind of things related to the war, and I respected that point in this book. And, for romance, this also had lots of it. ;)
July 24, 2016
This was an average book, at best. The story had so much potential, starting in Europe right before WWI. It was pretty good at the beginning, really slow in the middle (almost didn't finish it), and then picked up a bit at the end.
March 8, 2008
3 out of 4 stars
June 13, 2008
Absolutely revolting! totally crass! I put it down half-way through because I couldn't take it any more.
July 27, 2009
Fun easy book, set in the early 1900's in England. Old money vs new money
August 30, 2011
If you're going to elect the route of lazy, hazy, indulgent summer reading, it doesn't get much better than 'The Summer House'.
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August 20, 2015Ok, pretty good
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews