What do you think?
One Summer at Deer's Leap
A present-day love story which springs from a tragic wartime romance ! It is the 1990s. Cassie Johns is a young, lovely writer on the threshold of success after a less-than-silver-spooned girlhood. Driving through the glorious countryside to a fancy-dress party in the Vale of Boland, she gives a lift to a mysteriously attractive young man wearing the uniform of an RAF ready for the party Cassie assumes. But in the evening there is no sign of the airman. Cassie -- hitherto rational, sceptical, a woman of her times -- becomes obsessed by Jack Hunter, a pilot whose plane crashed in 1944, but whose long-ago love for a girl at Deer's Leap makes him unable to rest in peace. Cassie's love for the dead hero takes her into an unknown war-torn past, where old passion burns and becomes entwined with new.
629 pages, Paperback
First published January 11, 1999
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
September 1, 2023
4 Stars
I now understand why this book is the much loved favorite of so many readers. One of the most touching love stories I've ever read, combined with a tragic haunting and engaging mystery, makes this one a winner. I've enjoyed several of Elizabeth Elgin's novels, but this one is special.
I now understand why this book is the much loved favorite of so many readers. One of the most touching love stories I've ever read, combined with a tragic haunting and engaging mystery, makes this one a winner. I've enjoyed several of Elizabeth Elgin's novels, but this one is special.
August 31, 2011
If I could give this book infinite stars, I would.
Ever had a book take your breath away?
I hadn't. Not until this weekend.
Funnily enough, the other night I gazed at my bookshelves at the tons of books arranged there, and wondered how many wonderful books were there and had been there for ages, while I read newer books that had come my way. But earlier this weekend I picked up a book that had been gathering dust for several years and decided to give it a whirl.
The cover of One Summer at Deer's Leap by Elizabeth Elgin is very cheesy, depicting a WW II soldier lovingly clutching the shoulders of a young woman in a misty English setting...almost Harlequin Romance-esque, almost so much that it was probably the reason I'd put off reading it. I ordered it several years ago from a British bookseller on Amazon Marketplace, since I have a WWII England obsession, but that cover had put me off for some reason. And maybe it was the plotline, which seemed fantastic and a little unbelievable. However, this weekend I decided to jump into it.
It's the story of a young, present-day (well, circa 1998) writer, Cassie, who is invited to a "fancy-dress" (costume) party in the country, at her editor's sister's home, which is called Deer's Leap. On the way down the lane to the large, very old house she comes across a tall, handsome man dressed in an RAF pilot's uniform, hitching a ride. She stops and lets him into the car, thinking he is also a party guest, in costume. He tells her on the short ride to the house's gate that he is going to meet someone at the house, and seems very anxious and in a hurry. He asks to be let off at the gate, and then disappears through it. Cassie is very attracted to him and that night at the party, looks for him, but he doesn't appear. After the party she is sitting and chatting with her editor Jeannie and the hosts, Beth and Danny, and she mentions the airman to whom she gave a lift. She learns that he is a local and legendary ghost that most people won't admit to seeing for fear of being thought insane, although Beth says she has seen him once before. His name is Jack Hunter, and he was a pilot from nearby and now abandoned RAF Acton Carey, built on the land just below Deer's Leap. His plane had crashed in June 1944 in the village after a bombing mission, and he had not been able to rest. Cassie, who is somewhat of a "medium", becomes obsessed with researching the house's history to try and piece together why Jack Hunter's spirit still roamed the grounds of Deer's Leap. She is cautioned by her hosts not to meddle, but of course she does, and thank the literary gods that she does, because the story that unfolds is fabulous and unforgettable.
Cassie meets an elderly man from the village who fills her in about the house and the Smith family who lived there during the war and who just disappeared without a trace after the RAF took their house and grounds to billet soldiers. She realizes that the only daughter of the Smith family, Susan, was in love with Jack and he with her, and it's "Suzie" that Jack is still looking for, over 50 years later. Cassie then makes it her mission to find Susan Smith and reunite the two so that Jack can finally rest in peace. The tale of how she attempts to accomplish this seemingly impossible task will be one that I will never forget. Rarely does a book make me cry, but this one did, and I absolutely fell in love with the characters.
This could have been the dumbest, cheesiest and most redundant plot ever, but Elizabeth Elgin is a writer extraordinaire and she makes this story so very beautiful. Every night this weekend I have reluctantly laid the book aside to try and sleep, and have lain awake thinking about it. This book will be one I will keep on my "read" shelf forever.
Never judge a book by its cover.
Ever had a book take your breath away?
I hadn't. Not until this weekend.
Funnily enough, the other night I gazed at my bookshelves at the tons of books arranged there, and wondered how many wonderful books were there and had been there for ages, while I read newer books that had come my way. But earlier this weekend I picked up a book that had been gathering dust for several years and decided to give it a whirl.
The cover of One Summer at Deer's Leap by Elizabeth Elgin is very cheesy, depicting a WW II soldier lovingly clutching the shoulders of a young woman in a misty English setting...almost Harlequin Romance-esque, almost so much that it was probably the reason I'd put off reading it. I ordered it several years ago from a British bookseller on Amazon Marketplace, since I have a WWII England obsession, but that cover had put me off for some reason. And maybe it was the plotline, which seemed fantastic and a little unbelievable. However, this weekend I decided to jump into it.
It's the story of a young, present-day (well, circa 1998) writer, Cassie, who is invited to a "fancy-dress" (costume) party in the country, at her editor's sister's home, which is called Deer's Leap. On the way down the lane to the large, very old house she comes across a tall, handsome man dressed in an RAF pilot's uniform, hitching a ride. She stops and lets him into the car, thinking he is also a party guest, in costume. He tells her on the short ride to the house's gate that he is going to meet someone at the house, and seems very anxious and in a hurry. He asks to be let off at the gate, and then disappears through it. Cassie is very attracted to him and that night at the party, looks for him, but he doesn't appear. After the party she is sitting and chatting with her editor Jeannie and the hosts, Beth and Danny, and she mentions the airman to whom she gave a lift. She learns that he is a local and legendary ghost that most people won't admit to seeing for fear of being thought insane, although Beth says she has seen him once before. His name is Jack Hunter, and he was a pilot from nearby and now abandoned RAF Acton Carey, built on the land just below Deer's Leap. His plane had crashed in June 1944 in the village after a bombing mission, and he had not been able to rest. Cassie, who is somewhat of a "medium", becomes obsessed with researching the house's history to try and piece together why Jack Hunter's spirit still roamed the grounds of Deer's Leap. She is cautioned by her hosts not to meddle, but of course she does, and thank the literary gods that she does, because the story that unfolds is fabulous and unforgettable.
Cassie meets an elderly man from the village who fills her in about the house and the Smith family who lived there during the war and who just disappeared without a trace after the RAF took their house and grounds to billet soldiers. She realizes that the only daughter of the Smith family, Susan, was in love with Jack and he with her, and it's "Suzie" that Jack is still looking for, over 50 years later. Cassie then makes it her mission to find Susan Smith and reunite the two so that Jack can finally rest in peace. The tale of how she attempts to accomplish this seemingly impossible task will be one that I will never forget. Rarely does a book make me cry, but this one did, and I absolutely fell in love with the characters.
This could have been the dumbest, cheesiest and most redundant plot ever, but Elizabeth Elgin is a writer extraordinaire and she makes this story so very beautiful. Every night this weekend I have reluctantly laid the book aside to try and sleep, and have lain awake thinking about it. This book will be one I will keep on my "read" shelf forever.
Never judge a book by its cover.
June 30, 2020
I love Elizabeth Elgin's books and this one has always been an all time favorite. I hadn't read it for a long time. It's a dual time novel.
It's almost two books in one, about a third of the way in we change from the modern day story to the WWII story through a book written by a character in the story, if you get my drift. Then it's out the other side again to finish off with the present day.
I enjoy the historical element in these books more than the modern day part. We start of with Cassie who's starting out as an author. She goes to meet her agent for a weekend at a house called Deer's Leap and falls in love with it. If Deer's Leap was a real place I'd want to buy it too. The author writes wonderful descriptions of it.
When driving to the house she picks up a hitch hiker who's dressed as an RAF pilot and she assumes he's heading for the fancy dress party at Deer's Leap as well. She's attracted to him but later that evening she can't find him at the party and when she mentions him she knows immediately that there is a mystery here.
There are a lot of characters in this book as you would imagine. Because they're separated into two stories it's easy to follow them. It shows too how much control parents had over their children in the forties, even when they were in their late teens. Girls were particularly restricted. It also shows how parents can push their children too far.
I took a star off because it got a bit bogged down in sentiment in parts. I felt like I was drowning in it. Also Rosamund's ruminations got a bit repetitive in the historical part. At the end of it I thought Cassie was acting a bit silly and she annoyed me a bit.
Saying that, it's a wonderful story and anyone who enjoys time lines and history and romance will enjoy it a lot.
It's almost two books in one, about a third of the way in we change from the modern day story to the WWII story through a book written by a character in the story, if you get my drift. Then it's out the other side again to finish off with the present day.
I enjoy the historical element in these books more than the modern day part. We start of with Cassie who's starting out as an author. She goes to meet her agent for a weekend at a house called Deer's Leap and falls in love with it. If Deer's Leap was a real place I'd want to buy it too. The author writes wonderful descriptions of it.
When driving to the house she picks up a hitch hiker who's dressed as an RAF pilot and she assumes he's heading for the fancy dress party at Deer's Leap as well. She's attracted to him but later that evening she can't find him at the party and when she mentions him she knows immediately that there is a mystery here.
There are a lot of characters in this book as you would imagine. Because they're separated into two stories it's easy to follow them. It shows too how much control parents had over their children in the forties, even when they were in their late teens. Girls were particularly restricted. It also shows how parents can push their children too far.
I took a star off because it got a bit bogged down in sentiment in parts. I felt like I was drowning in it. Also Rosamund's ruminations got a bit repetitive in the historical part. At the end of it I thought Cassie was acting a bit silly and she annoyed me a bit.
Saying that, it's a wonderful story and anyone who enjoys time lines and history and romance will enjoy it a lot.
August 7, 2021
Sometimes it seem things are just meant to happen...
I received this book in amongst an unseen selection I bought during lockdown. Generally I don’t read war books, although I love historical romance, mostly because I feel a real affinity with the war and I find them too emotional. However, I was sitting pondering my tbr mountain for my next read and this book just called to me.
It’s a split timeline, really two books in one, covering the life of a young lady and her airman lover in the Second World War, alongside the research of a modern day author writing a novel.
I’m sitting here, day three of a past 1am read, crying real tears. Oh what a heartbreaking story, how the author so eloquently takes you through the trauma of living through the war as the girlfriend of an airman flying a Lancaster bomber. I feel like I’ve lived it - I wanted so desperately to keep reading yet I didn’t want to read what I knew was going to happen. Such emotional conflict, such realisation of what life could have been. How lucky we are to have just lived through a pandemic not a world war.
They say you should always leave your reader wanting to turn the page... I feel privileged to have turned the pages of this special book, to have lived the trauma of war and the beauty of love and to be able to come out of it, to the appreciate even more the incredible life we have been given. Thank you from the bottom of my heart 😍
I received this book in amongst an unseen selection I bought during lockdown. Generally I don’t read war books, although I love historical romance, mostly because I feel a real affinity with the war and I find them too emotional. However, I was sitting pondering my tbr mountain for my next read and this book just called to me.
It’s a split timeline, really two books in one, covering the life of a young lady and her airman lover in the Second World War, alongside the research of a modern day author writing a novel.
I’m sitting here, day three of a past 1am read, crying real tears. Oh what a heartbreaking story, how the author so eloquently takes you through the trauma of living through the war as the girlfriend of an airman flying a Lancaster bomber. I feel like I’ve lived it - I wanted so desperately to keep reading yet I didn’t want to read what I knew was going to happen. Such emotional conflict, such realisation of what life could have been. How lucky we are to have just lived through a pandemic not a world war.
They say you should always leave your reader wanting to turn the page... I feel privileged to have turned the pages of this special book, to have lived the trauma of war and the beauty of love and to be able to come out of it, to the appreciate even more the incredible life we have been given. Thank you from the bottom of my heart 😍
July 9, 2017
A book of three parts, and 650 odd pages later, I understand why. Present day and and war time stories collide when a young author visits a pretty house in the country to house sit. She meets a young man dressed as a airman and the past becomes her present. Determined to find out more about the young airman she unravels a love story that is still ongoing more than 50 years later.
I used to read Elizabeth Elgin books when I was much younger and have not read one of her books for over 20 years but finding and reading this one reminded why I really enjoyed her stories and what a good author she is. As in this story, time stops for no one, but I was taken back to a time of my youth when I had no cares or worries and had time to sit in a chair and soak up a good romantic tale. I hope it is not 20 years til I read the next one!
I used to read Elizabeth Elgin books when I was much younger and have not read one of her books for over 20 years but finding and reading this one reminded why I really enjoyed her stories and what a good author she is. As in this story, time stops for no one, but I was taken back to a time of my youth when I had no cares or worries and had time to sit in a chair and soak up a good romantic tale. I hope it is not 20 years til I read the next one!
June 21, 2020
Loved this book couldn't put it down.
April 11, 2021
Wow!!!! THE best book I have read in ages! Could not put it down.
November 4, 2021
A present-day love story which springs from a tragic wartime romance …It is the 1990s. Cassie Johns is a young, lovely writer on the threshold of success after a less-than-silver-spooned girlhood. Driving through the glorious countryside to a fancy-dress party in the Vale of Boland, she gives a lift to a mysteriously attractive young man wearing the uniform of an RAF pilot: ready for the party Cassie assumes. But in the evening there is no sign of the airman.
Cassie – hitherto rational, sceptical, a woman of her times – becomes obsessed by Jack Hunter, a pilot whose plane crashed in 1944, but whose long-ago love for a girl at Deer’s Leap makes him unable to rest in peace. Cassie’s love for the dead hero takes her into an unknown war-torn past, where old passion burns and becomes entwined with new.The bomber war was fought largely by young, civilian volunteers from Britain and the Commonwealth, commanded by men who joined up before the Second World War. The vast majority of aircrew were in their late teens or early twenties. Aircrew were first committed to a tour of thirty operational flights, not exceeding 200 actual flying hours, which could last for any period from four months to a year.Operational flying was perilous. Chances of survival varied during a tour, depending on factors such as inexperience, fatigue, type of aircraft flown and target. The most dangerous were the first and last five trips.A Bomber Command aircrew operated as a team. Each member was mutually dependent on the others and each had a vital part to play in ensuring that the aircraft reached its target, dropped its bombs and safely returned to base. The crew all shared the same experiences and dangers.For aircrew returning safely from an operation, relief at survival was the overriding emotion.Bomber operations were extremely stressful and frequently perilous, with a random chance of death or horrific injury. Flying was physically and mentally demanding and constant concentration was needed for many hours at a time. Airmen had to not only fight the enemy, but also a hostile environment in which they might encounter many kinds of adverse weather.
Cassie – hitherto rational, sceptical, a woman of her times – becomes obsessed by Jack Hunter, a pilot whose plane crashed in 1944, but whose long-ago love for a girl at Deer’s Leap makes him unable to rest in peace. Cassie’s love for the dead hero takes her into an unknown war-torn past, where old passion burns and becomes entwined with new.The bomber war was fought largely by young, civilian volunteers from Britain and the Commonwealth, commanded by men who joined up before the Second World War. The vast majority of aircrew were in their late teens or early twenties. Aircrew were first committed to a tour of thirty operational flights, not exceeding 200 actual flying hours, which could last for any period from four months to a year.Operational flying was perilous. Chances of survival varied during a tour, depending on factors such as inexperience, fatigue, type of aircraft flown and target. The most dangerous were the first and last five trips.A Bomber Command aircrew operated as a team. Each member was mutually dependent on the others and each had a vital part to play in ensuring that the aircraft reached its target, dropped its bombs and safely returned to base. The crew all shared the same experiences and dangers.For aircrew returning safely from an operation, relief at survival was the overriding emotion.Bomber operations were extremely stressful and frequently perilous, with a random chance of death or horrific injury. Flying was physically and mentally demanding and constant concentration was needed for many hours at a time. Airmen had to not only fight the enemy, but also a hostile environment in which they might encounter many kinds of adverse weather.
August 30, 2019
This is one of those rare stories that I know will stay with me for ever. I thought it had a bit of everything and literally made my spine tingle! This was my first Elizabeth Elgin book but it’s definitely not my last. Worthy of 5 stars.
March 4, 2026
"One Summer At Deer's Leap" by Elizabeth Elgin was such an interesting book. I am not going to tell how long it sat on my shelf waiting for me to read. The format of the book was something that I had never seen before, and it adds to the story. It sad that Ms. Elgin is no longer with us.
January 17, 2019
I think this is her very best novel. I felt bereft when I had finished reading it.
August 29, 2022
I love this book ,My Mum loved to read her books and often passed them on to me and this one in particular stands out and I read it more than once
March 12, 2024
I adore this book. It’s one of only few I’ve read several times <3
March 17, 2012
A friend lent me this book & totally raved about it. This is the most haunting book I have ever read, that's the only way to describe it. I was hooked to the point that it kept creeping in to my every day thoughts, I couldn't shake it off, it totally drew me in. Even when I'd finished it I wanted more! It so captivated me that I couldn't think of picking up another book to read for months. It mixed modern life with the past and there is a book within the book. I would like to say an absolute MUST read but......the affect I described above only happened to my friend and I, others that have borrowed it either couldn't get in to it or didn't 'feel the magic' it oozed.
September 24, 2011
Loved, loved, loved this book!!
Could not put it down as it was so engrossing.
Elizabeth Elgin certainly did her historical homework before writing this book as all the tiny details from the war era were included in the story to the extent that you really felt you were living the era.
Her characters were brought to life through the story and I never wanted it to finish.
I loved it so much and the historical facts I learnt from the book that I found myself seeking out more of Elizabeth Elgin's books afterwards.
Could not put it down as it was so engrossing.
Elizabeth Elgin certainly did her historical homework before writing this book as all the tiny details from the war era were included in the story to the extent that you really felt you were living the era.
Her characters were brought to life through the story and I never wanted it to finish.
I loved it so much and the historical facts I learnt from the book that I found myself seeking out more of Elizabeth Elgin's books afterwards.
January 14, 2023
Loved this book! I really enjoyed the historic story, I couldn’t put the book down, it was so good! I fell in love with the characters love story. I really enjoyed the first part where Cassie visits Deers leap for the first time, I did feel the end happened a bit quick though. But otherwise this book was amazing!
July 7, 2014
I read this book about a decade ago and had forgotten about it until I noticed it in an old photograph. From what I remember, I really liked it as it includes the elements of fiction I love so much - a love story, historical details, an interesting setting (WWII England) and intriguing characters.
July 18, 2014
A brilliant story set in WW2 and the present day. This is a truly great love story and very cleverly conceived. A wonderful old house is the scene for this love affair which will have you breaking your neck to reach the end and find out what will happen next.
March 17, 2012
I have read this book twice now because I love it that much! It is fantastic! A must read!
July 27, 2012
One of the only bookds that made me cry. Brilliant
September 25, 2013
A real gem of a story, split between the present day and WW2 ..... A love story with a haunting . Brilliant
July 30, 2015
Loved it, really had me in parts
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews