The Summer House (by Marcia Willett)

(Amazon UK link)

I am so enjoying re-reading Marcia Willett’s novels. They are warm, full of likeable three-dimensional characters, and with intriguing storylines. I’m trying to read them in the order in which they were published, since many of her novels reference people from previous books, if only in passing. Not that is the case for ‘The Summer House’, as far as I can tell - I last read it about nine years ago, and had entirely forgotten both the cast and the story.

At least, I thought I had forgotten the story. But I did apparently recall the solution to a slight mystery that pervades the book, and which isn’t fully uncovered until towards the end. I wasn’t sure if I was simply picking up on clues or if I subconsciously remembered it - either way, it didn’t matter at all.

It’s hard to say who is the main protagonist of this story, as there are quite a few significant people. Milo and Lottie and the older pair who are introduced first. At least, they appear a couple of pages into the book, and are skilfully explained during the course of the first chapter. Lottie is in fact Milo’s sister-in-law; he is divorced from Sara, and Lottie is rather younger. She’s never married, and is an intuitive, intelligent and empathic person who is full of wisdom, yet uncertain about her place in the world.

Milo and Sara have a son, Nick, who is married to Alice. We don’t meet Alice in the book, as they’re having some difficulties in their marriage - and I found Nick rather a difficult person to like. However it’s Nick who is the catalyst for Milo thinking about selling part of his property - the ‘Summer House’ of the title. However it’s not just a posh garden shed, but an entire house which has, until the story starts, been rented out.

In a somewhat complicated set of relationships, Lottie and Milo have stood almost in the place of parents, for many years, to the siblings Matt and Imogen. Imogen is married to Julian and lives not far away, with a baby. Julian is a vet, and they’re looking for a house to buy, ideally located close to his practice. Matt and Im’s father Tom - who worked closely with Lottie as a young man - died in Afghanistan when Matt was small, and their mother Helen died more recently, after many years of increasingly serious depressive illness.

Matt has written a very successful novel which has been turned into a film, and has made him both famous and financially secure. But he’s plagued with nightmares and insecurities, and seems unable to form romantic relationships. There’s a rather dislikeable young woman, Annabel, who wants more from him than friendship, but he’s unwilling to do so. Oh, and there’s the rather frail Venetia, formerly Milo’s mistress, who is a fascinating mix of superficial and vulnerable.

So many people, so many past stories… and yet, their characters are so well-developed by the author that I feel as if I almost knew them all. There was a sense of loss as I closed the book; I didn’t want to say goodbye to them. I don’t remember any of these people appearing in the author’s later books, although it’s possible they recurred as minor characters.

The novel is set in Devon - or possibly Somerset - as so many of Marcia Willett’s books are. Her knowledge and love of the area shine through. Descriptions are beautifully written, with just enough detail to set the scenes without being overdone. I admit to skimming occasionally when someone admires the view and it’s described in full, but it was only ever a paragraphs or two.

It’s a gentle novel, a story of temptations, of friendships and different kinds of love. The contrasts and varied relationships between the characters make this almost compulsive reading, even though there’s not, in fact, a huge amount of plot. The conversations feel entirely real, and I appreciate the very gentle, low-key Christian themes that pop up now and again, in context, without any hint of preaching.

Highly recommended if you like character-based contemporary women’s fiction.

Review copyright 2021 Sue's Book Reviews