The summer wives a novel

Beatriz Williams — 2018

New York Times bestselling author Beatriz Williams brings us the blockbuster novel of the season--an electrifying postwar fable of love, class, power, and redemption set among the inhabitants of an island off the New England coast . . .In the summer of 1951, Miranda Schuyler arrives on elite, secretive Winthrop Island as a schoolgirl from the margins of high society, still reeling from the loss of her father in the Second World War. When her beautiful mother marries Hugh Fisher, whose summer house on Winthrop overlooks the famous lighthouse, Miranda's catapulted into a heady new world of pedigrees and cocktails, status and swimming pools. Isobel Fisher, Miranda's new stepsister--all long legs and world-weary bravado, engaged to a wealthy Island scion--is eager to draw Miranda into the arcane customs of Winthrop society.But beneath the island's patrician surface, there are really two clans: the summer families with their steadfast ways and quiet obsessions, and the working class of Portuguese fishermen and domestic workers who earn their living on the water and in the laundries of the summer houses. Uneasy among Isobel's privileged friends, Miranda finds herself drawn to Joseph Vargas, whose father keeps the lighthouse with his mysterious wife. In summer, Joseph helps his father in the lobster boats, but in the autumn he returns to Brown University, where he's determined to make something of himself. Since childhood, Joseph's enjoyed an intense, complex friendship with Isobel Fisher, and as the summer winds to its end, Miranda's caught in a catastrophe that will shatter Winthrop's hard-won tranquility and banish Miranda from the island for nearly two decades.Now, in the landmark summer of 1969, Miranda returns at last, as a renowned Shakespearean actress hiding a terrible heartbreak. On its surface, the Island remains the same--determined to keep the outside world from its shores, fiercely loyal to those who belong. But the formerly powerful Fisher family is a shadow of itself, and Joseph Vargas has recently escaped the prison where he was incarcerated for the murder of Miranda's stepfather eighteen years earlier. What's more, Miranda herself is no longer a naïve teenager, and she begins a fierce, inexorable quest for justice for the man she once loved . . . even if it means uncovering every last one of the secrets that bind together the families of Winthrop Island.

Reviews

Patricia Nelson@tnelson577

Aug 23, 2023

I LOVED this book! What a great read, particularly as summer begins! The author does a wonderful job of weaving the story between two time periods without making it hard to keep track of what is going on, and I found myself rooting for the main characters. Great read! I received this book as an Advance Reader's Edition as a member of the Harper Collins Book Club Girl Book Club.

Jo M@american_seoul

Oct 20, 2022

Be aware this book contains several stories of questionable sexual interaction (non-consensual, young girl older man, etc).

I didn’t think I liked this book that much but days after I posted the review I was still thinking about the story and the characters so it must have struck some chord within me.

This review contains a spoiler

Gisela Ayala @giselasmusings

Sep 7, 2022

"Of course you don't forget. But you cross that bridge and you can't cross back to where you stood before. You keep marching, that's all you can do." The darkest of secrets, betrayals, forbidden romance, and MURDER. What else can you expect or want when you put together a cast of character on a secluded island in summer. My second Beatriz William novel and I AM OBSESSED. The story centers around Miranda and her interactions amongst the higher class summer vacationers, and the year-rounder islanders who serve them. Miranda's mother marries into a higher class family in 1951 and what ensues is a clash as the two classes collide (that's a tongue twister). Miranda must consolidate her growing feelings for the son of a fisherman whilst balancing the act of a new society girl, a role she never thought she would play. There are three storylines - Miranda in 1951 when she first arrives on the island, 1969 when Miranda returns to the island after 18 YEARS, and 1930 from the point of view of Biana, a young Portuguese girl who has so much more to do with the story than you first believe. Friends, I got through the first half of the book in one night because I could not put it down. You would think you would get confused with so many storylines but no, Williams crafted a seamless story that had me at the edge of my seat as secret after secret is revealed. Williams was able to tap into the nitty gritty emotions and the relationships that bind us no matter how much we yearn to break free and the main protagonist, Miranda was my absolute favorite, a real "star in the sky." Class does play a major role in this book, and it's interesting to see how the characters interact with each other despite the social divides. My written words don't do justice for how I feel about this book. I was left speechless last night at 1:00 in the morning. "Promise me something," he said. "Don't ever let them keep you down. "Those bastards, don't let them change you."

Katharine Butler @kbutler

Aug 12, 2022

It was a slow start but as I got further into the book I became more invested in it, every time I set it down I was left wondering and waiting till I could pick it up again.

Kimberly Diaz@kimberlyy

Dec 15, 2021

It blew me away. The lies, the heartbreak, the romances. It all worked beautifully together. You don't know who to root for but you're in tears the whole time. The only book I've read in a while that felt like a movie. Great novel!

Kayla @kaylasbookishlife

Dec 6, 2021

Ooh this was another fantastic summer drama on the East Coast. Beatriz Williams’ books are always packed full of generational secrets that come back to haunt characters even decades later. It’s very addicting and I always finish these books in two days or less. Miranda is not a native of Winthrop Island. Her mother marries into one of the summer families that spend their holiday being catered on by the local Portuguese working class families. Miranda is confused by the strict social divide between the two groups but she has only just begun to find out the secrets that loom on that New England Island. Doesn’t that sound so intriguing? And it is trust me! This was such a great book I wish I read it on a beach! I love books like this! I’m all for a fast-paced novel with secret romances and even deeper family secrets just lurking around the corner. And while I enjoy some women’s fiction in our present day period, there is something about having it set just a few decades earlier that makes it so much better!

Elodia@eloreads

Oct 20, 2021

*3.5 The first half was slow and I didn’t really like the characters, except for Miranda. The second half, however, was great! Though I wish we’d seen more from the ‘30s. Looking forward to reading more from this author.

Jacklyn O’Brien @judge_a_book_by_this_blog

Oct 13, 2021

Beatriz Williams for the win again. A riveting historical fiction that made me immerse into the ritzy life of the rich during a summer at their New England island home.