The Summer People.

by John Rowe Townsend

A teen-age boy and girl whose parents hope they will someday marry seek romance elsewhere during their summer vacation at an English resort in 1939

223 pages, Hardcover

First published September 28, 1972

About the author

John Rowe Townsend (born 1922) is a British children's author and academic. His best-known children's novel is The Intruder, which won a 1971 Edgar Award, and his best-known academic work is Written for Children: An Outline of English Language Children's Literature (1965), the definitive work of its time on the subject.

He was born in Leeds, and studied at Leeds Grammar School and Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Among his popular works are Gumble's Yard (his debut novel, published in 1961), Widdershins Crescent (1965), and The Intruder (1969), which won a 1971 Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Juvenile Mystery. In Britain, The Intruder was made into a children's TV series starring Milton Johns as the stranger. Noah's Castle was filmed by Southern television and transmitted in seven 25-minute episodes in 1980.

Reviews

[SarahC · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book I remembered after reading it 20 years ago. Still today I am hugely impressed by the fine writing and the ability of the author to make a young love story what it should be. It is set in England literally just days before the start of World War II, and the feeling of the delicacy of love and life is told so well in this book. No gimmicks, no drama -- just a straight-forward story in which nothing much happens and everything happens. It is a young adult novel, but mature in ways that it would certainly be appreciated by older audiences too.

[Glen]

This book has stayed with me for nearly thirty years. I fwll in love with the characters of Phillip and Ann. I think i have about three copies of it

[Joelle Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my all-time favourite books, and probably my favourite John Rowe Townsend book, although I pretty much love every single one of them.

Simple, innocent, beautiful, and stunning writing. I first read it thirty years ago and have reread it periodically ever since.

[Squire Whitney: Hufflepuff Book Reviwer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I rather enjoyed the majority of The Summer People. It was sweet and charming and even somewhat thought-provoking. I appreciated the heartfelt story of a good-looking and popular and well-to-do male protagonist falling in love with a particularly plain-looking and destitute outcast of a girl, almost against his will--while his parents ship him with an extraordinarily beautiful childhood friend, someone much more "suitable" in the world's eyes. As a guy with primarily female friends, I related to the idea that there are some people that you will see more like a sibling than a love interest, especially if you grew up with them.

But I hated the ending.

SPOILER ALERT! I understand why Phillip couldn't marry Ann--but why does he have to marry Sylvia? It seemed to go against everything Townsend had established earlier. Phillip loved Ann in a way he could never love Sylvia, who he grew up with. Did he just marry a woman he didn't even love (in a romantic way) out of societal pressure? If this was what Townsend was trying to depict, then it could have worked, but the author should have been more clear. Or did Phillip truly fall in love with Silvia? If that's the case, then it essentially makes the book meaningless to me. Yet another otherwise good novel ruined by a deeply disappointing conclusion.

[Omar · Rating 3 out of 5]

رواية جميلة تتحدث عن قصة حب بريئة جمعت بين شاب وفتاة اثناء عطلة الصيف على احد شواطئ بريطانيا عشية الحرب العالمية الثانية وانتهت بنهاية العطلة.
الرواية مسلية وتصلح سيناريو فيلم لليافعين, ولعلها أصبحت

[Kari · Rating 4 out of 5]

This seemed slow for at least the first half, but the second half makes up for it. 3.5 stars.

[Nour Fayadh · Rating 2 out of 5]

قرأت ترجمتها للعربية بعنوان المصطافون .. لا بأس بها وتقرأ كتسلية في طريق طويل لا أكثر .. لها حبكة جميلة وبريئة وسرد لطيف .