Summer in February

by Jonathan Smith

While making a speech attacking modern art, Sir Alfred Munnings is taken back 40 years to a special time and place. Major Evans, listening to him on the radio, is also flooded with memories, and wonders how everything changed in both their lives.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Art, Historical, Romance, British Literature, Literary Fiction

356 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Jonathan Smith was born in Wales in 1942 and went to Christ College, Brecon. He read English at Cambridge, taught at Loretto School, Edinburgh and in Melbourne, and from the late 1960s onwards at Tonbridge School, where he was head of English for 17 years. He is married and lives in Kent.

Reviews

[TBV (on hiatus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summer in February* relates the story of Sir Alfred Munnings (1878-1959) and an artistic community in Cornwall in the years before WWI.

Munnings was particularly well known for painting horses**. An outspoken critic of Modernism, he gave an outrageous valedictory speech at the end of his term as president of the Royal Academy of Arts. This took place in 1949, long after the events detailed in this novel, but the novel commences with this occasion before returning to what had happened in those earlier years.

Most of the story takes place in Lamorna, Cornwall. Several artists lived there, including Laura Knight and her husband Harold Knight.***

Alfred Munnings Reading Aloud Outside on the Grass (1911) by Harold Knight

attribution

Laura Knight Painting, by Alfred James Munning

Photo credit: Norfolk Museums Service (artuk.org)

From the moment that the brash Munnings arrives on the scene he is the centre of attention and attraction. There is another arrival shortly after his own, and that is of the beautiful Florence Carter-Wood (1888-1914), repeatedly compared to Botticelli’s Venus, soon to study art with Stanhope Forbes. Florence (nicknamed Blote) too causes a stir. She lives with her young brother Joey who is also supposed to be studying art, but who is far more interested in marine biology and critters such as the sea anemones.

A selection of sea anemones by Giacomo Merculiano, 1893


Counter to the artists in the community is land agent Gilbert Evans who inevitably is swept off his feet by Florence. And he is not the only one.

The scene is set for tragedy…

*A film by the same name and based on this novel was released in 2013. It stars:
Dominic Cooper as A.J. Munnings
Dan Stevens as Gilbert Evans
Emily Browning as Florence Carter-Wood
Hattie Morahan as Laura Knight
Shaun Dingwall as Harold Knight
Max Deacon as Joey Carter-Wood

**https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/s...

***https://cornwallartists.org

###
The story is largely factual. The characters are well drawn. Alfred Munnings is portrayed as larger than life, which is credible considering his speech. Gilbert, who fought in the Boer War, is shy and gentle.

Whilst it was a fairly enjoyable read (I love reading about artists, authors and composers) it wasn’t exceptional.

[Edita · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could nothing ever be left alone? Couldn’t even the oldest wounds be allowed to heal?
*
She had never before in her life felt herself in the company of so powerful and challenging a spirit of so wild and unsettling a nature.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew very little about this novel when I picked it up in a charity shop 3 for 95 pence deal. From the ads for the 2013 film adaptation with Dan Stevens, I had in mind that this was an obscure classic. It was in fact published in 1995, but is inspired by real incidents spanning roughly 1909 to 1949. It’s set among a group of Royal Academy-caliber artists in Lamorna, Cornwall, including Alfred Munnings, who went on to become the academy’s president in 1944–9.

The crisis comes when Munnings and Captain Gilbert Evans, a local land manager, fall for the same woman. A love triangle might not seem like a very original story idea, but I enjoyed this novel particularly for its Cornish setting (“From dawn to dusk it had rained non-stop, as only Cornwall can”; “The sea was slate grey and the sky streaky bacon”) and for the larger-than-life Munnings, who has a huge store of memorized poetry and is full of outspoken opinions. Two characters describe his contradictions thusly: “I can see he’s crude and loud and unpolished and Joey says he cuts his toenails at picnics but…”; “he’s one in a million, a breath of fresh air, and he’s frank and fearless, which is always a fine thing.”

The title refers to the way that love can make any day feel like summer.

(The cover image is Morning Ride by A.J. Munnings.)

For more information on Munnings, see here.
For more information on Gilbert Evans, see here. (Beware spoilers!)

[Damien Mosley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and delicate. I just finished it and am filled with that wave of loss and tragedy that exudes a truly beautiful book. Have I used beautiful twice? Well perhaps that is because it is the most apt description. From the Cornish coastal setting to the gentle build and affection the book brought out in me. What it does so well is know how to build and then not to linger. To move the story on and not dwell when love has been achieved. And though I normally do not like a sad ending, it was done with such tenderness that it was the only way.

[Mary Durrant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely descriptions of the Cornish landscape.
A sad and tragic story of the artists in Lamorna.
I really felt for Captain Evans who's love for Florence which could never be shown after her marriage to Alfred Munnings.
Would love to see the film.
If you love art and paintings , this is based on actual people from the turn of the century.

[Tweedledum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summer in February explores the relationships between a group of artists living and working at in and around Lamorna Cove near Penzance during the early art of the C20. This group included Alfred Mumnings and Laura Knight both of whom were to receive high honours for their work with Munnings being knighted and rising to become President of the RA while Laura Knight was the first woman artist to receive an OBE. When the author began to discover and explore the tragedy of the death of Munnings' wife, who committed suicide in July 1914, but who is hardly mentioned in either Laura Knoght's autobiography or that of Munnings, he uncovered the extra-ordinary story that Smith tells with deep sensitivity and empathy in this book. Personally I found it a riveting read.

Having joined the artists' community with her brother, Florence Carter-Wood (Blote) entered into marriage with Alfred Munnings entirely of her own free will, appearing to have become fascinated enough by him to agree to an engagement. Yet, bizarrely enough, she first attempted suicide on her wedding night itself, having previously obtained the poison to do so. She survived this attempt and both her friends and husband thought that she had moved on. A film has been made of the book and the film attempts to shed some light on the raison d'être behind Florence's first suicide attempt but surely this must remain pure speculation. Perhaps this is why people love novels. In a novel the author can explain human actions in a myriad of ways. But in reality suicide can rarely be fully comprehended or understood and always leaves those who knew and loved the victim deeply emotionally scarred. Often they spend many years searching hopelessly for answers.

Part of the author's skill in this book is that he makes no attempt to explain or give answers for the prurient reader. He presents the facts as they were known and understood by Florence's friends and husband in an oblique and delicate way and makes no assumptions nor forces us to any conclusions. We may infer that the tragedy of her death clearly weighed heavily on the lives of those who loved her and were closest to her. Indeed their silence on the subject powerfully suggests this. They forbore to speculate, to justify, to excuse or to condemn. We may infer that Florence's naivety and strict upbringing ill-equipped her for the roller coaster of emotions she experienced when she moved to Lamorna,but in the end, we, observers almost from another universe, so distant does the early C21 seem from the motives and mores of the C20, can no more know the answers than they could.

Instead Jonathan Smith invites us to enter into their world, to feel and see the excitement, the frustrations, the longings, the restrictions of the members of that community. And what a rich community it is. Rich in spirit, in creativity, in joie de vivre. Entering into the world we feel the tragedy, the grief, the loss in part....only in part..... And we wonder how those who were so close to Florence bore it. The suicide of one beautiful young woman on the eve of WW1 was perhaps quickly subsumed into the greater tragedy of that hideous conflict. But it may be that it also spurred those people on to a greater sense of purpose and focus in their lives.

[Lucie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The movie is going to wreck me. WHY.

Anyhow, it was so interesting to learn about artists in that era and to be able to see a little of their closed world. I really liked Gilbert but that's no surprise for he is portrayed by Dan Stevens in the movie. However, I really can't stand Alfred Munnings. I know this is fiction, so please someone tells me I shouldn't dislike him that much. Because in the book, I can't.

Moreover, I thought it was clumsy to have the book start in 1949, with only two chapters at that time, and the rest in the 1910s. Of course the whole story was set around that time BUT it would have given me more closure to end the book on a chapter set in 1949. It feels a bit unfinished to me.

It was a decent historical novel but not the best. It's inspired by real events and while I knew how it would end because of it, I still cried. I'm quite excited to see the movie *whispers* because of Dan Stevens.

[Erika Schotty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw the movie first, and it seemed to be missing a piece of the story, which left me intrigued to read the book. I didn't understand Florence's character; why she made the decisions she did; and I was hoping the book would give more insight. It did not, as the story is told through the men (mainly Gilbert), switching between first and third person. This lack of detail on Florence makes more sense in the book, as the men would not be able to know everything she is thinking or feeling, but it made me lack empathy for Florence. I only felt it for Gilbert, whose character I love. Overall, I found the book to be an enjoyable read.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautifully written book about real people and gives a fascinating insight into the Cornish art community of the 1920's. The author deals with a tragic situation very sympathetically. This isn't the sort of book I would usually read but I am very glad I did.

[Clare Snow]

Ages ago, I guess in 2013, I saw the trailer for this as a movie and wanted to see it. I never did. Now I know it's a book, I'll read it, then watch the movie.

Btw. where I live, every year it's summer in February 😉

The cover painting is by Munnings and I love it.

[Trelawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of the artists colony at Lamorna, Cornwall in the early 20th century. While giving a general view of the artists, the story centres on the love triangle between the great artist Alfred Munnings, fellow artist Florence Carter Wood and Captain Gilbert Evans. Having read Churchill KBO by the same author I have to say I really enjoy his style. He makes historical figures come to life on the page. That sounds cheesey, I know, but when reading his books you can hear Churchill blustering away or Munnings drunkenly quoting Poe as though you were in the room with them. This is both engaging and disconcerting but makes for entertaining reading. Would certainly recommend this.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book a while ago. It is set in the valley where my mother lives. My Great Aunt Ella Naper and her husband Charlie where part of the Lamorna School of artists and life long friend of the Knights. I enjoyed reading this tragic story especially as I grew up hearing the names of many of the protagonists.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mostly just a drawn-out love triangle, Summer in February is set in an early twentieth-century artist colony. Based around actual people, Florence Carter-Wood, the woman at the center of the triangle, is little more than the Edwardian version of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl. She’s not developed enough as a character in her own right, so we’re given no insight into her choices or thoughts, leaving her as a beautiful-but-blank canvas on which the men of the story can craft their own narratives.

That could actually work as a story, but there’s no awareness to indicate that Mr. Smith intended that sort of comment. Instead it feels like it’s a story about men and their relationships – and even that’s flimsy – and, oh yeah, how women muck everything up. Silly women! Book: Not recommended.

As for the film adaptation, the cast’s talent is woefully underused, and none of the characters are sufficiently developed to explain their actions. Also not recommended.

[Judy Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

A true story about a group of artists..loved it though took a while to get to recognise the fundamental characters..which were very real

[Toni Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're interested in art and enjoy discovering more about the personal lives of artists then you'll enjoy Summer in February. Although this is not a biography Jonathan Smith did extensive original research in order to write the most convincing story about Alfred Munnings, world famous painter of horses, and his life in the artistic community in Lamorna, Cornwall, at the beginning of the 20th Century.

Summer in February is a snapshot in time, covering only a few years prior to the outbreak of WW1 and revolving around the love triangle between Munnings, Florence and the estate manager Gilbert Evans.

Jonathan Smith evokes a wonderful sense of scene. When reading the book you can smell the tang of the sea air mingled with the artist's turpentine. All the characters are well portrayed and by the end of the book you feel that you know them all personally, their desires, their motivations and their passions.

Summer in February has now been made into a film starring Dominic Cooper as AJ Munnings, Dan Stevens as Gilbert Evans and Emily Browning as Florence Carter-Wood. It's due to be released in 2013.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sad but thoughtful book. I wanted to shake the main characters to stop them making such a mess of their lives. Based on a true story of AJ Munnings and some of his fellow artists in Cornwall in the early 1900's just before the WW1. Florence is tragic and naive but everyone loves her. A slow book but enjoyable in a mellow way.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

took a little while to get into but I loved the characters except for one. To think that this is a true story written from a diary makes it even more heart rendering/frustrating and also made me want to do research on the characters.

[Daniela Sorgente · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came across this book almost by chance, I had already read Wilfred and Eileen by this author and I liked it. I saw that it was made into a film in 2013 with Dan Stevens and Dominic Cooper. It is the fictionalized story of true events and tells what happened between 1911 and 1914 in a group of painters, known as the Newlyn School, who found themselves living in an area of ​​Cornwall near Penzance, gathered around the painter Stanhope Forbes who had founded a painting school in the area. Painters were attracted above all by landscapes and the possibility of painting in the open air. I like these books which give the possibility of looking for photos of the characters, historical facts, in this case also the paintings of the named painters, those of Sir Alfred Munnings, of Laura and Harold Knight and especially of Florence Carter-Wood who had an unfortunate and short life: her death marked the end of the golden age of a group and was then followed by the First World War with all its changes. The book begins in 1949 and the events are remembered by some characters, with fragments of diaries and letters.

[Mia-rosa Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written account of what may have happened between a group of artists who lived in Cornwall during the early 1900s.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A novel of a series of dramatic relationships between artists & models, & their friends, in undeveloped Edwardian Cornwall, its powerful vortex, the once-famous but largely now forgotten, Alfred Munnings, a painter renowned for his fine equine studies & tempestuous moods! Smith captures a world on the cusp of monumental social & technological changes in a landscape of timeless beauty, where little has changed for a hundred years, & natural forces can roam almost unchecked.But in the central triangular relationship of Munnings,his beautiful, but unworldly wife Florence & the semi-narrator, Gilbert Evans,a decent man, but no artist, of his particular class & time; it is those natural forces that create havoc with all their lives. Based on real events in the topsy-turvy artistic world of pre-1914, this is a very good read for anyone with an interest in art, & its often difficult, creation. Alfred Munnings' paintings are almost an extra-mural character in this dramatic tale of stifled, tortured & tangled lives.

[Chloe (Paint and Butterflies Books) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cannot tell you how much I love this book, a true story about the Lamorna artist community just before the first world war. A well researched novel taken from one of main characters (Gilbert Evans') diaries. A story of talent, love and sorrow. I would definitely recommend and when you're done watch the film!

To see more reviews and things check out my blog - http://themusingsofchlo.wordpress.com/

[Dolf Patijn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant. A beautiful book about a painters colony in Cornwall in the early 20th century. In this book you feel transported back in time. The language has the feel of the early 20th century.
This book has loads of atmosphere. Loved it.
NB: even though Jonathan Smith used real people for his book, it is still a work of fiction. The nice thing is that you can look up some of the paintings and people mentioned in the book on Google.

[Jolanta · Rating 4 out of 5]

▪️
“- O Stenhopas Forbsas sako, jog teptuką reikia laikyti lengvai, tarsi rankoje turėtume paukštelį, o jūs dažnai smarkiai trenkiate į drobę, norėjau pasiteirauti, kodėl jūs... laikotės tokio požiūrio. Tai smarkiai skiriasi nuo to, ką yra tekę matyti anksčiau.”
▪️
“Aklųjų šalyje vienaakis yra karalius.”
▪️
“Pažadėk sugrįžti.
Sugrįšiu.
Ir liksi gyvas?
Stengsiuosi visomis išgalėmis.
Nors ir sulaužiau savąjį pažadą?
Sugrįšiu.”

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't normally read romantic novels, and I read this one because of the film which is screening in June, but this book totally got me. It is very beautifully written and heart breaking. I know nothing about art or the artists, but am now looking forward to the film. Dan Stevens would play a convincing Gilbert. Dominic Cooper...he even looks like the same sort of person as A.J.Munnings.

[Liz Fenwick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It was evocative and captured a long lost world of painters in Cornwall. Smith builds the story through the different view points and captures you in the world. I think the only difficulty I found was the motivation of one of the main characters but that was not Smith's fault. He had to stick to the fact of the actual events. It didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read based on an actual artists' colony in England in the early 1900's. The characters, too, are fictional recreations of actual people, several artists who lived in the colony. It's a dark subject, and the writing is beautiful. Has been made into a movie that I'd love to see.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

For me this was one of those books I couldn't put down and was sorry when it finished.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Sir Alfred Munnings, retiring President of the Royal Academy, chooses the 1949 Annual Banquet to launch a savage attack on Modern Art. The effect of his diatribe is doubly shocking, leaving not only his distinguished audience gasping but also the many people tuning in to the BBC's live radio broadcast. But as he approaches the end of his assault, the speech suddenly dissolves into incoherence when he stumbles over a name -- a name he normally takes such pains to avoid -- and that takes him back forty years to a special time and a special place.

"Summer in February is a disturbing and moving re-creation of a celebrated Edwardian artistic community enjoying the last days of a golden age soon top be shattered by war. ...it a love story of beauty, deprivation and tragedy."
~~back cover

A beautiful novel, so evocative of Cornwall and that beautiful golden age before WWI. Swarming with individual characters, and of course sexual overtones, and undertones. It's a love story on many levels: a love story of painting, of artistry; love stories of several unrequited loves; of several love affairs with painting; love stories of frustrated love.

The ending came as a blinding surprise, and an instant feeling of "No! It can't end like this! Go back! Change it!" But of course, it's there, in black and white, and the reader is left to grapple with the meaning of it all. And the Author's Note at the end indicates that many, if not all, of the characters were real people, really in Lamorna, really ...

[Norman · Rating 4 out of 5]

FLORENCE CARTER-WOOD. That was her name! If you've seen the film "Summer in February" you'll know that I'm emphasising the name of Sir Alfred Munnings' first - and deliberately forgotten - wife. This is the novel on which the film is based. But what was the excuse for the publisher to omit her name from the blurb - after all, despite the book being told mostly from Captain Gilbert Evans point of view, the focus is on Florence. There are two images of her on the cover but no name which is a shame when that is exactly what Munnings wanted - her to be forgotten and not mentioned again
But back to the book. It's easy reading and tells of the group of artist based around Lamorna in Cornwall. The entrance of Florence shakes things up with Munnings becoming obsessed with her as his muse and Evans falling head over heels. But this takes place before the First World War so manners were more polite - although Munnings made sure not too polite. The novel evokes the slower life and how artists spend their days - each different, but also aspects of how the Colonel's estate was managed by Gilbert Evans. But the thrust is the interplay of relationships and the consequences of them particularly between Munnings, Laura Knight and her husband, Florence and Gilbert. The fiction might be a bit different from the facts - particularly whether Gilbert went a bit further than one would expect of a man like Gilbert - but most are as accurate as they can be.

[Bo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is interesting in many ways. First of all, it features real people. People who've walked this earth, but who were quite unknown to me. Perhaps that's because I'm not very much into art, but to me it does add to the story to know that this truly happened, however tragic it may be. Now, I saw the film adaptation of this book many years ago, before I'd even held the book in my hands, but the story was so intriguing, so dark and yet, in some way, so lovely and heartwarming that I wanted to get my hands on the source material to see if I would feel the same about the words being written, if the story would still be so compelling. And it is. It truly is. It's every bit as dark - maybe more so - and it just keeps you reading. I love the descriptions of Cornwall, probably because I am living there at the moment, and the characters are so well-rounded that it's very lively. A very compelling read that even got me a little more interested in art!