Nancy Brewster, a recluse living on the New England shore, reflects on the baleful events that have cruelly shaped her life. Writing her memoirs -- largely to exorcise the "insanity" that for years kept her locked in a sanitarium -- Nancy's thoughts linger most deeply on her encounter with Isabel March, an enigmatic poet and practiced husband-stealer. Soon Nancy's wistful, seemingly random memories carry us to a climax as startling and monstrous as any in contemporary fiction. The Summer of '39 was inspired by the events -- ...
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Nancy Brewster, a recluse living on the New England shore, reflects on the baleful events that have cruelly shaped her life. Writing her memoirs -- largely to exorcise the "insanity" that for years kept her locked in a sanitarium -- Nancy's thoughts linger most deeply on her encounter with Isabel March, an enigmatic poet and practiced husband-stealer. Soon Nancy's wistful, seemingly random memories carry us to a climax as startling and monstrous as any in contemporary fiction. The Summer of '39 was inspired by the events -- as recorded in the author's biography of Robert Graves -- which occurred when poets Graves and Laura Riding left Europe to spend a summer with a young American couple.
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