The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson: A review
The Summer Before the War: A Novel by Helen Simonson My rating: 4 of 5 stars The war in the title is World War I. Most of the action of the novel takes place in the little town of Rye in East Sussex. It is the summer of 1914. Belgium has been invaded by Germany and England is girding itself for war. It was a time of innocence and patriotic fervor. Amid parades and festivals, the English prepared themselves for war in the certitude that they would soon vanquish Germany and everything would be as it was before. Little did they know... The main thrust of the story that Helen Simonson tells here is about the status and treatment of women during this era. She tells the story through the experiences of a young teacher, Beatrice Nash. Beatrice arrives in Rye to teach students Latin. This is apparently a shocking state of affairs for the residents of Rye. Who ever heard of a woman teaching Latin? Beatrice is a well-educated woman who must make her own way in the world following the death of ...