I'd like to nominate R.F. Delderfield's
Long Summer Day, the first of his
Horseman Riding By trilogy, though it can
certainly be read standalone without issue.
This was my final read of 2017, and a flat 5-star read for me. It's a delight in so many ways, and yet offers some real meat we can discuss around the Suffragette Movement in the UK, and around the radical tax law changes made by the Liberals and how those affected the class structure in England.
The time is the reign of King Edward from the Boer War up to just before World War I. The book is not short (688 pages), but is available as a
Kindle Unlimited book right now at
AmazonUS, or for:
.
There is an
Audible version, respectably read by Jonathan Oliver, but it doesn't appear to be available in the US.
As
Books and Bookman said, when reviewing the book:
"It is always a pleasure to read R F Delderfield, because he never seems to be ashamed of writing well".
As a writer, I can think of few things that a reviewer could say that would please me more. The Goodreads description:
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Goodreads.com
1902-1911 An age of innocence and hope. Before the storm clouds roll over Europe. As Paul Craddock recovers from his Boer War injuries, he starts to plan a new life. As soon as he is able he invests all he has in a remote but beautiful estate in Devon, determined to make something wonderful of the place and to be at the heart of what is most real and most important. Then he meets Grace, beautiful and passionate, and mistress of the land he has so quickly grown to love. Equals in spirit and honour, their attraction to each other is undeniable, but she too has ambitions - and they may not be compatible with his. As Paul gains knowledge, contentment and stature in Shallowford it is at the price of heartbreak and bittersweet lessons learned.
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The Amazon description:
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Amazon.com
A great read for fans of PBS’s Poldark and Downton Abbey—first in the saga of a man returning from battle to an estate in the pre-WWI English countryside.
After serving his country in the Boer War, injured Lieutenant Paul Craddock returns to England to resume civilian life. But things have changed since he joined the Imperial Yeomanry three years ago. His father has died, leaving Paul as heir to a scrap metal business he has no intention of continuing. Instead, he purchases an auctioned-off thirteen-hundred-acre estate in a secluded corner of Devon. Neglected and overgrown, Shallowford becomes the symbol of all that Paul has lost—and a reminder of the gentle place his homeland once was. And here, on this sprawling stretch of land, he will be changed by his love for two women: fiercely independent Grace Lovell, and lovely, demure Claire Derwent.
Set in the English countryside in the first part of the previous century—from the long “Edwardian afternoon” following the death of Queen Victoria, to the gathering storm of World War I—Long Summer Day is the story of a man, his family, and a people struggling to adapt to life in a new world.
Long Summer Day is the first novel in R. F. Delderfield’s saga A Horseman Riding By, which continues with Post of Honour and The Green Gauntlet.
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As I said above, this was a 5 star read for me. Delightfully well written, and a pleasure to read. A perfect book for our Summer selection!