''Flambards in Summer'' is a novel for children or

young adults A young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages of human development significantly influencing the definition of ...

K. M. Peyton Kathleen Wendy Herald Peyton (born 2 August 1929), who writes primarily as K. M. Peyton, is a British author of fiction for children and young adults. She has written more than fifty novels including the much loved " Flambards" series of storie ...

, first published by Oxford in 1969 with illustrations by Victor Ambrus. It completed the '' Flambards trilogy'' (1967–1969) although Peyton continued the story a dozen years later, and controversially reversed the ending in ''

Flambards Divided ''Flambards Divided'' (1981) is a sequel to the Flambards trilogy, written by K. M. Peyton. Synopsis ''Flambards Divided'' continues the story of Christina, who has married Dick, following the death of her first husband, her cousin Will, during ...

''. Set in England just after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, ''Flambards in Summer'' features Christina Parsons as a young widow, returning to the decrepit Flambards estate to recover a life there.

Plot summary

The final novel in the original Flambards trilogy opens in the middle of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

with Christina, now a widow, returning to Flambards; an estate in

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

. Flambards has greatly deteriorated since she left with Will, and is almost in ruins. As distraction from her grief over Will's death and the news that his brother Mark has been reported missing and presumed dead, Christina sets herself the tedious and difficult task of restoring the farm. She not only wishes to restore the house and grounds but also a semblance of her old life, the people, horses and hounds. Finding she is pregnant with Will's baby, Christina adopts Mark and Violet's six-year-old son 'Tizzy' Thomas, along with an original Flambards bitch called Marigold and a nervy five-year-old bay thoroughbred called Pheasant. Eventually she persuades Dick to come back to work on the farm and things slowly begin to go smoothly, until the reappearance of Mark. Christina's joy quickly turns to anxiety and apprehension as Mark tells her that if she wishes to remain at Flambards, she must marry him. But Christina fears Mark will become like his father, and when she finds she has feelings for Dick, her confusion increases as she still loves Will.

Publication history

World Publishing Company of New York issued the first U.S. edition in 1970, retaining the Ambrus illustrations.

Awards

Peyton and ''Flambards in Summer'' were commended for the annual Carnegie Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book by a British subject. She won that year's award for the second book, ''The Edge of the Cloud''. For the trilogy Peyton won the 1970

Guardian Children's Fiction Prize The Guardian Children's Fiction Prize or Guardian Award was a literary award that annual recognised one fiction book written for children or young adults (at least age eight) and published in the United Kingdom. It was conferred upon the author ...

, selected by a panel of British children's writers, a once-in-a-lifetime award that ordinarily recognises one fiction book published during the preceding calendar year. Exceptionally the 1970 award recognised the series completed in 1969.

Adaptions

The trilogy was

adapted In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...

as a 13-part television series in 1979, ''

Flambards ''Flambards'' is a novel for children or young adults by K. M. Peyton, first published by Oxford University Press in 1967 with illustrations by Victor Ambrus. Alternatively, "Flambards" is the trilogy (1967–1969) or series (1967–1981) name ...

'' starring Christine McKenna as Christina Parsons. Peyton then continued and partly reversed the story.

References

External links