May Book Report: The Summer Before the War

I’ve an enduring fondness for all things English.  Set your novel in the English countryside and I can just about guarantee that I will pick up the book.  This month’s read met all my requirements for a happy read: Helen Simonson's The Summer Before the War is set in the English countryside in the summer of 1914, in the expectant months after the Archduke Ferdinand has been assassinated and just before the European continent goes to all-out war.  

The book begins as the story of an independent young woman, Beatrice, as she seeks to make her own way in the world by working as a Latin teacher in the small English town of Rye.  Beset less by her own doubts than the sexism of a society that treats unmarried young woman as a problem to be solved, her independence seems to flummox her family and most of the small town.

She finds an advocate in the form of one of the school supporters, an independent-minded middle-aged woman named Agatha.  As the summer wanes and the town makes preparation for war, Beatrice finds her way forward as both a school teacher and an independent woman.  I found this book to be an easy read.  There were some sparkling moments, especially the early reflections on women and the struggle for rights at the start of the 20th century, but it wasn’t exceptional so much as it was good; a nice read for the end of the long and busy days of May.