Coronation Summer

Londoners Trilogy #3

by Angela Thirkell

This witty historical novel follows 17-year-old Fanny's journey to London for the six weeks of coronation festivities in the summer of 1838, when young Victoria assumes the throne in England. Happily the pomp and pageantry of London do little to distract Fanny from the more familiar concerns of matchmaking and courtship.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Audiobook, Romance, Classics, Humor, British Literature

189 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1937

About the author

Angela Margaret Mackail was born on January 30, 1890 at 27 Young Street, Kensington Square, London. Her grandfather was Sir Edward Burne-Jones the pre-Raphaelite painter and partner in the design firm of Morris and Company for whom he designed many stained glass windows - seven of which are in St Margaret's Church in Rottingdean, West Sussex. Her grandmother was Georgiana Macdonald, one of a precocious family which included among others, Stanley Baldwin, the Prime Minister, and Rudyard Kipling. Angela's brother, Denis Mackail, was also a prolific and successful novelist. Angela's mother, Margaret Burne-Jones, married John Mackail - an administrator at the Ministry of Education and Professor of Poetry at Oxford University.

Angela married James Campbell McInnes in 1911. James was a professional Baritone and performed at concert halls throughout the UK. In 1912 their first son Graham was born and in 1914 a second son, Colin. A daughter was born in 1917 at the same time her marriage was breaking up. In November 1917 a divorce was granted and Angela and the children went to live with her parents in Pembroke Gardens in London. The child, Mary, died the next year.

Angela then met and married George Lancelot Thirkell in 1918 and in 1920 they traveled on a troop ship to George's hometown in Australia. Their adventures on the "Friedricksruh" are recounted in her Trooper to the Southern Cross published in 1934. In 1921, in Melbourne Australia, her youngest son Lancelot George was born. Angela left Australia in 1929 with 8 year old Lance and never returned. Although living with her parents in London she badly needed to earn a living so she set forth on the difficult road of the professional writer. Her first book, Three Houses, a memoir of her happy childhood was published in 1931 and was an immediate success. The first of her novels set in Trollope's mythical county of Barsetshire was Demon in the House, followed by 28 others, one each year.

Angela also wrote a book of children's stories entitled The Grateful Sparrow using Ludwig Richter's illustrations; a biography of Harriette Wilson, The Fortunes of Harriette; an historical novel, Coronation Summer, an account of the events in London during Queen Victoria's Coronation in 1838; and three semi-autobiographical novels, Ankle Deep and Oh, These Men, These Men and Trooper to the Southern Cross. When Angela died on the 29th of January 1961 she left unfinished the last of her books, Three Score and Ten which was completed by her friend, Caroline LeJeune. Angela is buried in Rottingdean alongside her daughter Mary and her Burne-Jones grandparents.

Reviews

[Claire West · Rating 4 out of 5]

I heard about Angela Thirkell on a blog that I follow. I was interested in reading her work, but they aren't in the public domain and not at many libraries. However, when I was at my local library a few weeks ago I stumbled across half a dozen of her books and almost squealed aloud. I didn't, because I was in a library, but I wanted to. :) I immediately stopped reading everything else and devoured this book.

There is so much that I love about this book; the memorable characters, the descriptions of London, and the humor. I love Fanny and Emily and Mr. Tom and Mr. Darnley. They are all dear characters. I also loved how the story starts "from the end". It kinds of separates this book from other books like this.

However, I do have a few qualms with this book. For one, though the plot was good, it wasn't all that great. I enjoyed it, but it could have been better.

All-in-all, I will be reading more of Angela Thirkell in the future.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, Nadia May and Angela T. are a great combo, so I had high expectations for this unusual piece of Thirkell's work. CS is not about Barsetshire per se (I haven't had a chance to dig back and see what links exist), but the usual chatty voice and "much ado about nothing" approach are present. The social information is fascinating, but there are big plot gaps: the Ingoldsby Legends idea, with a long poem in Irish (?) dialect supposedly written by the Ingoldsby's groom. . . . What was that all about? Some of the more entertaining pieces are the sisterly exchanges and infighting between Fanny and Emily, and Thirkell's gleeful presentation of a biased narrator. All in all, not what I expected, but a pleasant outing.

[Shawn Thrasher · Rating 2 out of 5]

High hopes, dashed on the rocks of my literary fastidiousness and capriciousness. I really wanted to be enthralled by this book, and instead was bored by the plodding plot and occasional ornate and over flowery choice of words. I guess I was hoping for a more lighthearted book. There were some bright spots that flared up every so often; I liked Fanny's bitchy asides about her friend Emily. There needed to be more of that. The whole book reminded me a bit of Sorcery & Cecelia: or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot, an old favorite of mine; but not enough to make me like this book.

[Marthabethan · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a very disappointing end to the trilogy. I felt like the character development in the first two was completely undone and the characters behaved in baffling and unacceptable ways. So many problematic things happened that were just brushed aside and not even acknowledged as being problematic and awful (rape, a 21 year old man trying to date / marry a 15 year old girl, as two examples). I also found the plot to be pretty unbelievable, particularly Matthew’s story. I did like their plot the best as it was the least problematic and I did like the ending for the Emmersons. But the plots of the other characters, which took up most of the book, were just not that enjoyable.

[Alisha · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is not connected to Angela Thirkell's main body of work, the Barsetshire novels set in the mid-20th century. This book is a fictional account of one Fanny Harcourt, who together with her best friend and her father, goes to London to be part of the festivities of Queen Victoria's coronation. Parts of it remind me of Jane Austen's juvenilia. It's mildly amusing, but not all that funny or memorable.

[Heidi Burkhart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I noted from other reviews that this is not one of Thirkell's more popular books, however I really enjoyed it. There were places when I lost the point of some thoughts, and some ideas were not developed, but it reminded me of random verbal ramblings that I enjoy with friends. It was a sweet, quick read.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Coronation Summer is obviously meant to be humourous and seemed to me a bit in the style of Northanger Abbey. But it was not as entertaining as Thirkell's Barsetshire series, in my opinion. Well researched and historically accurate as far as I could tell, and that was a pleasure.

[Patty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book about a young woman's adventures in London while attending the coronation of Queen Victoria in 1838 was written about 100 years after that. The first person narration sometimes had me wondering if the author identifies with the narrator or is gently mocking her. Our heroine, Fanny, is an overly sensitive, prejudiced snob, but I'm presuming that the author presents her as representative of the ideals of the time.

The story is basically a shallow romance in which we already know the outcome. What makes it worthwhile is the description of 1838 London and and the revelry associated with the coronation. Fanny, who is from rural Norfolk, shares the marvels and horrors she observes as she rides and walks through London. She shops for clothes, and attends literary soirees, balls, and performances. She sees hot air balloons and horse races....and many other spectacles. Anglophiles will be entranced.

[Donna Jo Atwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

The coronation is Queen Victoria's, but the point of view is that of Fanny, seventeen years old, who travels with her father to London to participate in as many of the activities as she can. Fanny and her friend Emily are agog with all that London has to offer--clothes, balloon ascensions, men.
I love how snippy Fanny can sound about Emily's actions, as if SHE has any room to talk. The story is told from a slight remove of four or five years after the coronation, so that Fanny can make some editorial comments during the story.
This is my first Angela Thirkell, and if the others are like this, I want more.

[Debra · Rating 1 out of 5]

My first library had what had to be the complete Angela Thirkell collection - just zillions of books. I never read any, but never forgot them either. When I saw this on my current library's Overdrive site, I downloaded it.

And was sorry that I did. Just didn't do it for me. The story was clumsily written, with too many extraneous details. The characters were under-developed. It all went together to make me just not care.

The audiobook was narrated by Nadia May, not one of my favorites. Her voice grates on my ears.

At least it is short.

[Tressa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Coronation Summer was an enjoyable slice of life during the coronation of Queen Victoria in England. I have read books set in this time period before, but I hadn't read stories with the viewpoint used in this story. It was very interesting and an eye-opener for me. I also found the main character, Fanny, quite amusing. I think the narrator, Nadia May, did a lovely job.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this one as much as the first two in the trilogy. I felt it took me two thirds of the book to get into the plot and the story line was a bit dull and predictable. I think you would be tototally lost if you hadn't read the previous two as there are so many characters.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good final story to this trilogy. I do like a book that wraps everything up at the end. It's interesting to read about the excitement for our Queen's coronation and how life was in 1953 - I was born a couple of months after the coronation!

[Luci · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was short, steamy, and sweet. I wish I'd realized when I picked it up that it was part of a trilogy, but I was able to follow all the characters and it was the right sort of light reading for what I wanted this week.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Angela Thirkell is now my favorite writer for hilarious and pitch-perfect literary parodies.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Angela Thirkell is my favorite author so obviously I really like this book.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first Thirkell, but definitely not my last.

[booksandcarbs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Coronation Summer is a fun and Austen-esque novel -- 3.5 stars.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm excited to find a new author from the 30s. This book was especially fun - a story about early Victorian life, written in the 30s. Angela Thirkell had to have a closer perspective than we do now, right? _Coronation Summer_ is something like an Austen novel from the point of view of a Lydia Bennett character (except a generation+ later of course). She is frivolous, under-educated, not always very kind to her BFF, & eager to record gossip & the riots at public events. Drunks fighting, deaths, & destruction of property were normal at all sports & public display, according to Fanny Harcourt, & of course they were, what else can you expect from the lower classes?

The story also drives home the precariousness of a girl's position / reputation / life. This is a comedy, so things turn out all right, thanks to the White Knight, but nobody would have felt any pity for Fanny if she had ended up poor & unmarried, & therefore less than nobody in the mid 19th century. She would have spent long, threadbare years hating herself because a man wrote a poem TO her. Drawing anyone's notice or being the recipient of a letter from an eligible bachelor made one a tart, apparently, as if someone could help if a man wrote her a letter. What should she have done? Burned the letter immediately? Should a person, at 17, have the judgement to encourage only the steady, dependable suitor among a group of men that she's just met? Ok, you get the idea.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first Angela Thirkell book, I'm not sure how I have avoided her novels for so long. This one is the story of two young women who travel to London to see the coronation of Queen Victoria. It is quite funny but what gives the novel some depth is the way she weaves in the social unrest of the time. I wasn't clear where she was landing in terms of her thoughts on these issues but I see she leans conservative... The story bubbles along with everyone getting engaged or married by the end, but I would have prefered to see some of the issues that she raises to be folded into the story in a more meaningful way. It was a time of more conservative policies being enacted for the poor (e.g, the introduction of workhouses) and there are interesting moments in the novel where it appears she is humanising poverty (for example, the young women have their gowns made at a place where one of the workers is dismissed for fainting on the job after working 18-hour days), and there are many allusions to Charles Dickens and his novels. The novel also highlights the differing political opinions of the men, with the radicals and conservatives arguing over various contemporary people or events, however they all seem to live the same privileged lifestyle. A very enjoyable book with hints of social commentary that could have made it so much more interesting.

[❀ Carla ❀ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite being so short, this novel felt impossibly long. It follows Fanny, a young country girl going to London with her best friend and family for the summer of Queen Victoria’s coronation, and what ensues is less than adventurous. It’s a fascinating account of life in that time period, even though it was published exactly 100 years after the summer in question.

I loved the witty narration, and found it to be hilarious and almost jarring compared to the world we’re transported to, but that helps emphasize what a spectacle every little detail is turned into - from catching the eye of someone from a window to buying a dress that will go out of fashion in 3 months.

It’s likely a good read for people who are fascinated in that time period and like original takes that aren’t purely historical.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first entry into Angela Thirkell. She was described to me as a cross between Jane Austen and P. G. Wodehouse, so I expected it to be wittier, but I'll definitely read more of her works. The fainting women were definitely amusing and Henry Darnley worth fainting for.

[Dallas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing against the author, storytelling or even the performance (audiobook); this just wasn't my kind of story.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tried the audio book because it was read by Nadia May, who I love. Sadly it was just not good, even with her wonderful voice. I couldn't finish it.

[Maggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

52 Book Club: Explores social class

[Oolookitty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Engaging enough, but very slight and not Thirkell at her best. It honestly feels like third rate Georgette Heyer. Thirkell’s Barsetshire books are much more fun.

[Ayny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chose because of the title. End of a trilogy and a lot of drama. Racism that I know was just part of the culture, but still hard to read. Some story lines were far fetched and not realistic to what was going on. So many couples spending time with people who are not their spouses, it was hard to keep track. But I did not read the first two. 3 stars

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Works better when read out loud by someone who knows how to prop up the thin comic characterization. It's pretty flat stuff on the page.

[Carobe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Glädjens sommar.

[Jo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't finish it, was crap