When an ambitious female artist accepts an unexpected commission at a powerful earl's country estate in 1920s England, she finds his war-torn family crumbling under the weight of long-kept secrets. From debut author Courtney Ellis comes a captivating novel about finding the courage to heal after the ravages of war.
AT SUMMER'S END by COURTNEY ELLIS
Series: Standalone
Publication date: August 10, 2021
Published by: Berkley
Genre: historical fiction
SYNOPSIS
Alberta Preston accepts the commission of a lifetime when she receives an invitation from the Earl of Wakeford to spend a summer painting at His Lordship's country home, Castle Braemore. Bertie imagines her residence at the prodigious estate will finally enable her to embark on a professional career and prove her worth as an artist, regardless of her gender.
Upon her arrival, however, Bertie finds the opulent Braemore and its inhabitants diminished by the Great War. The earl has been living in isolation since returning from the trenches, locked away in his rooms and hiding battle scars behind a prosthetic mask. While his younger siblings eagerly welcome Bertie into their world, she soon sees chips in that world's gilded facade. As she and the earl develop an unexpected bond, Bertie becomes deeply entangled in the pain and secrets she discovers hidden within Castle Braemore and the hearts of its residents.
Threaded with hope, love, and loss, At Summer's End delivers a portrait of a noble family--and a world--changed forever by the war to end all wars.
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Praise for At Summer's End:
“I loved everything about this book: the richly drawn characters, the evocative setting, the very heart and soul of the story within the pages. It’s everything you want in a novel for these times we are in. A sparkling debut from a new author we’re all going to want more from.”—Susan Meissner, bestselling author of The Nature of Fragile Things
"Readers will be captivated by this stirring debut of love, family secrets and human frailties. Told with wit and tenderness, this story is as unique as its characters, Bertie and Julian Wakeford, an earl like no other. Ellis deftly captures the devastation of war and what it means to be comfortable in one’s own skin.”—Renee Rosen, bestselling author of The Social Graces
“Ellis’s lyrical, emotional writing brings the beauty of Braemore alive while revealing the complexity of the richly drawn characters as Bertie pursues artistic recognition alongside her emotionally charged love affair with Julian. Historical fiction fans will appreciate this.”—Publishers Weekly
“The lush setting and vivid characters are utterly captivating in Ellis' lovely debut.”—Booklist
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Courtney Ellis began writing at a young age, and developed an interest in history from her grandfather’s stories of World War II. After obtaining her BA in English and Creative Writing, she went on to pursue a career in publishing. She lives in New York.
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At Summer's End by Courtney EllisMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
You never know what to expect when you take a gamble on a debut author. You could be blown away by their raw talent, or you could feel that their writing quality isn't quite up to par. At Summer's End was a pleasant surprise filled with human vulnerabilities, family dysfunction and struggle, and one woman's determined leap of faith to find her place in the world. Not all historical fiction has a heavy theme of romance in it. This one did, and in fact, that was one of the draws for me going into it. It isn't the only area of conflict and interest by far, but it does have a solid place in the forefront of the story. There were two other major focus points: unraveling the Earl of Wakeford's family secrets through flashback chapters, and the outcome of Alberta "Bertie" Preston's summer job at castle Braemore as a struggling female artist. All of this came together to form a cohesive, compelling story that easily drew me in, enticing me to keep reading.
Bertie was what was considered a "spinster" of her time. I hate that word and all of the connotations attached to it. The story takes place in the 1920s when a woman's value was purely measured by her marriageability and child bearing capabilities. Bertie has reached her late 20s as a single woman out of choice which was considered something to be ashamed of at the time. From an early age, her passion centered around creating art and she wants nothing more than to be able to have a career doing what truly makes her happy. Her parents do not agree, and she has become almost invisible in the shadow of her sisters who have faithfully produced the requisite grandchildren.
I’ve spent my years not looking for a husband,not building a family, but painting.I am nothing without it, and if I stay here,nothing I shall remain.”“If that’s how you feel,” said Mother, “then I have failed you.”
When Bertie wins an art contest, the newspaper article about her piece draws the attention of Julian, the Earl of Wakeford. It seems like an opportunity of a lifetime for an unknown, female artist looking to make a name for herself. Going against her parents' wishes, she banks her entire future on the success of one summer at castle Braemore. If she fails, she will have no home to return to and no prospects of commissions to support herself. You can't help but admire the courage it would have taken for a young woman to go after her dream in an all or nothing gamble like this one. Of course, her time taking care of wounded soldiers during the Great War had already shown that she has character and substance beyond her years.
After arriving at the castle, she meets Julian's three siblings: Celia, Roland, and Gwen. On the surface, they seemed like the average affluent, high society family living a life of privilege. She was surrounded by opulence unlike anything she was experienced before and it put stars in her eyes in a way. But her preconceived notions of what life was really like there quickly began to fall apart.
The Earl is a physically and mentally wounded man from the horrors of the war. He and his youngest sister Celia had a falling out which causes much friction in the house. Roland has an odd temperament-one minute exuberant, the next withdrawn. And Gwen has been through hell and back with the loss of her beloved husband and the responsibility of holding her broken family together. Soon, what was once a simple visit to paint the stately home of a noble family becomes something completely unexpected.
How easily I’d been seduced by the Napiers,by their lavish life and their twisted past.How gratifying it had been to nurture again,to be Julian’s protector. But I couldn’t offer them what they wanted.This wasn’t a job for a nurse, and it certainly wasn’t a job for an artist.
Julian is fragile man hiding from his family and the world behind his bedroom door. The only one he allows in his sanctuary is his older sister Gwen, until the young woman he hired comes to his home and begins to open his heart again. Julian was such a quiet man to begin with. Someone who was highly reserved and comfortable in the quiet of his own thoughts. Like Bertie, he was a disappointment to his parents. They wanted someone more outgoing and aggressive to take the reins of the family's legacy. They saw him as weak where he was only kind. Powerless when he was merely soft spoken and gentle. His interactions with his siblings were such a sweet thing to read in his younger years that it was such an injustice he wasn't recognized for the rock he really was for his family.
He and Bertie had other things in common besides the ill-fitting place in their family. They also shared an affinity for art, though he doesn't have the heart to do the things that he once enjoyed. Slowly but surely, Bertie tries to ease him back to taking control of his life once again. Their friendship begins slowly and graduates to confidants and the hint of something more. But will he ever be mentally stable enough to take control of his crumbling life once again? Will his emotional wounds ever mend enough for the two of them to find some sort of happiness together in the future? Julian is very, very unwell. He suffers horribly with grief, guilt, PTSD, and a level of desolation that no one quite knows how to approach. I've heard it said that we never move on from grief, but we find a way to move on with it. Julian must find a way to do so and forgive himself for the things that he thinks are unforgivable.
What I liked about the story was that Bertie's support and love were not the magic key to solving all of his issues. Realistically, she wasn't his cure, and she understood that enough to let him find his way back to her if he could without any recrimination.
You were always light, Bertie. I would have you know that.You were a light, but God forgive me, I couldn’t see past the dark.”
I enjoyed that aspect of it very much, however I did feel that the end was not quite as impactful as I was expecting. I'm not sure what was missing there, but I was left feeling just a tad deflated. Perhaps the section of the story after Bertie left the castle could have used some more exploration and detail. In a way it felt that everything fell together so smoothly and almost too easily after such a build up to the harsh realism of what Julian was struggling with internally. However, that's just my point of view and it didn't cause much of an issue for me. I loved Bertie's unconditional acceptance of Julian-at his very worst and seeing the best of him even when he could not. I also enjoyed learning more about the masks (like Julian's) that were common for soldiers who were disfigured during the war. It's a great reminder of what WW1 soldiers willingly volunteered for in order to protect their loved ones and their country. It was a sacrifice of the ideals of the world that they once knew and the comfort inside their own skin. It's a lifetime sacrifice that should never be forgotten.
If you love a historical fiction with a strong element of romance and mysterious family secrets to be unraveled, this is the perfect book for you. I really enjoyed reading it and look forward to reading more from this author in the future.
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