Summer

Set against the verdant backdrop of rural Massachusetts during a sweltering summer, “Summer” unfurls as a narrative of forbidden passion and thwarted ambitions. The protagonist, seventeen-year-old Charity Royall, yearns to escape the constraints of her stifling existence with her alcohol-dependent adoptive father in their secluded village. When a young urban architect arrives for the season, Charity perceives an opportunity for emancipation. However, as their fervent affair develops, she questions whether it might lead to a different form of captivity. Edith Wharton esteemed “Summer” as one of her masterpieces.