The Greengage Summer

A near perfect portrayal of adolescence and loss of innocence set during one long hot summer in France. With an introduction by actress and author Jane Asher.

A near perfect portrayal of adolescence and loss of innocence set in the Champagne country in France. With an introduction by actress and author Jane Asher.

A tense, evocative, portrait of love and deceit set during one long hot summer in France, The Greengage Summer is a hauntingly beautiful coming-of-age story by from Rumer Godden, the author of Black Narcissus, now a major BBC drama series.


When their mother is suddenly taken ill on holiday, five siblings are left to fend for themselves at the elegant, faded hotel, Les Oeillets. Under the increasingly jealous gaze of the glamorous patronne, Mademoiselle Zizi, the children gravitate towards her mysterious and charming lover, Eliot, for comfort. And, amongst the gnarled trees of the old orchards, thirteen-year-old Cecil watches from the sidelines as her achingly beautiful sister, Joss, is drawn into the heart of a toxic affair.



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