That Camden Summer

by LaVyrle Spencer

Overview

When a fiercely independent young woman returns with her three daughters to her hometown of Camden, Maine, after divorcing her philandering husband, she finds a less-than-hospitable welcome. But she's about to show an entire town what one good woman can do.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780515150766
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	08/17/2011
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	4.10(w) x 6.70(h) x 1.20(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

LaVyrle Spencer is the New York Times bestselling author of contemporary and historical romance novels including Small Town Girl, Then Came Heaven, and That Camden Summer. 

Editorial Reviews

A resilient divorce returns with her three daughters to her childhood hometown; a lonely widower makes the rough journey out of the shell of his own isolated soul; and the perennially bestselling Spencer (Home Song) doesn't miss a beat as she expertly gives them a second chance at love. First, however, they have to suffer. It's the summer of 1916 when Roberta Jewett returns to Camden, Maine, after 18 years. As a divorce, she finds herself a social outcast and even her mother thinks she's a tramp (besides which she wants to work, of all things, and own a car). What makes her really mad, however, are men. She doesn't like them, having learned, she thinks, all there is to know from her disastrous marriage. But it turns out that the brutes can be both worse and better than she has ever dreamed. On the one hand, there's Elfred, her lecherous brother-in-law, who can hardly keep his mitts off her; on the other hand, there's Gabriel Farley, the widowed carpenter, and she can hardly keep her mind off him. From the very start, Gabe and Roberta are bickering (``Don't you laugh at me, Mr. Farley!.... I shall own a motorcar, come hell or high water.''). Then, little by little, without really trying, they become friends (as do their children). Her hatred of men wanes, his obsession with his dead wife becomes muted and their attraction heats up with the summer. But when Roberta is brutally raped, all her hopes are threatened. Will she be able to pick up the pieces? Can she face family secrets and challenge the town's benighted hypocrisy? Will Gabe do the right thing? Spencer, famous for her heart-rending slices of Americana, delivers the goods again. First serial to Readers Digest; Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club main selections. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

At the turn of the century in New England, an independent divorce, progressive before her time, returns to her provincial hometown of Camden, Maine, in order to build a new life for herself and her three daughters. Braving adversaries such as her lecherous brother-in-law, condemning mother, and a community that considers a divorced woman little better than a prostitute, Roberta Jewett behaves "scandalously," securing a job as a county nurse to support her children, learning to drive, and buying a "Model-T car." Roberta is embittered by her humiliating marriage to an outrageous philanderer, but not surprisingly she "finds love" with Gabriel Farley, the gruff yet inwardly sensitive widowered carpenter retained to renovate her home. Although predictable and somewhat belabored, Spencer's latest novel is overall an enjoyable read. Recommended for most libraries, particularly where historical fiction is popular.-Marcie S. Zwaik, "Library Journal"

Library Journal

Divorcee Roberta Jewett and her three daughters return to her hometown of Camden, Maine, to be close to her mother and sister. But in the early 1900s, a divorced woman is equated with a prostitute, and Roberta faces the disapproval of her family and the suspicions of a closed-minded town. The only welcome Roberta receives in Camden comes from the teenagers who befriend her daughters and from Gabriel Farley, a widower contracted to renovate her home. Gabriel and Roberta's common interest in raising their respective daughters leads to a relationship that survives the disapproval of the townsfolk and a vicious attack on Roberta. Disbelieving Roberta's accusations against her attacker, a group of influential citizens plan to remove Roberta's children from her "immoral" influence, and Roberta and Gabriel's love may not be enough to save the girls. Spencer's last 11 books have been "New York Times" best-sellers, so expect heavy demand for this book. Incidentally, CBS-TV has two of Spencer's previous books in development with options on a third.

Melanie Duncan

Praise for That Camden Summer

“A modern fairy tale.”—People 

“Deft, unpretentious, and down-to-earth, LaVyrle Spencer...never fails to please.”—The Anniston Star

More Praise for LaVyrle Spencer

“Superb.”—Los Angeles Times

“Warm and folksy and loving.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Leaves the reader breathless.”—New York Daily News

“[Spencer] delivers the goods.”—Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher