The Swiss Summer

Name: The Swiss Summer
Brand: Tantor Audio
Availability: InStock
Author: Stella Gibbons
ISBN: 9798855501100

Author: Stella Gibbons

Narrator: Bronwen Price

Unabridged: 12 hr 36 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 12/17/2024

Categories: Fiction, Literary Fiction, World Literature, Women

Synopsis

Worn down by postwar London life, forty-something Lucy Cottrell finds herself accepting a surprise invitation to spend the summer at a Swiss chalet, accompanied by the very practical and undemonstrative Freda Blandish, whom she barely knows. The two are charged with inventorying the contents of the chalet, but distractions soon abound, first from Freda's slightly woebegone daughter Astra and her hoity-toity friend Kay, then from Lucy's godson Bertram and his friend Peter. Utta, the housekeeper, determined to prevent any changes to the chalet she loves, and a challenging paying guest add complications, as do clashing personalities, misunderstandings, and budding romance—not to mention a bit of Alpine climbing.

Packed with good humor, lush scenery, and irresistible charm, The Swiss Summer, first published in 1951, is one of Stella Gibbons' most delightful novels.

"For holiday reading it would be hard to find anything better." —Guardian

About Stella Gibbons

Stella Gibbons was born in 1902 in London. She was educated first at home, then the North London Collegiate School for Girls, and finally at University College, London, where she did a two-year course on journalism. Her first job, in 1923, was as cable decoder for British United Press. For the next decade she worked as a London journalist for various publications, including the Evening Standard and The Lady. Her first published book was a volume of poems in 1930. This was followed by the classic comic novel Cold Comfort Farm (1932) which remains her best-known work. In 1933 she met and married Allan Webb, an actor and singer, the marriage lasting until the latter's death in 1959. From 1934 until 1970, Stella Gibbons published more than twenty further novels, in addition to short stories and poetry, and there were two further posthumously-published full-length works of fiction. She was a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and was awarded a Femina Vie-Heureuse prize in 1933 for Cold Comfort Farm. Stella Gibbons died on December 19, 1989, at home in London.

Reviews

Goodreads review by JimZ on May 15, 2021

I was disappointed in this book. I definitely went into the book wanting to like it, because I had heard such good things about Stella Gibbon’s oeuvre, and I had read and loved her ‘Cold Comfort Farm’ (1932). But this was 249 pages of mostly dry reading of characters most of whom I could give a hoot......more

Goodreads review by Emily on March 02, 2024

Lucy is a well-off middle-aged Englishwoman who gets a very The Enchanted April sort of escape from the realities of her comfortable but dull life, being offered an unexpected chance to accompany the paid companion to the eccentric Lady Dagleish to spend a couple months taking an inventory at the la......more

Goodreads review by Gina on June 23, 2025

3.75 🌟 An over-the-top and humorous summer vacation in Switzerland for the "guests" of Lady Dagleish. This novel reminded me so much of The Benefactress (also mentioned in the book!) and All the Dogs of my Life (with a hint of The Enchanted April) by Elizabeth von Arnim. Although I don't always enjoy......more

Goodreads review by Abigail on May 14, 2024

This observant little novel is not particularly ambitious but it is enriched by a deep love of place. Forty-something Lucy Cottrell is invited on a whim by a rich old lady to spend the summer at her chalet high in the Swiss Alps. The old lady can’t travel anymore but is sending her companion, Mrs. B......more

Goodreads review by Elizabeth on July 31, 2024

Huh. That was different than I expected. I didn’t love it but I liked it. The ending is satisfying too. I particularly loved Lucy and Astra and their friendship. I liked the two young men too and how the dynamic changed so much with the new guests at the chalet. I didn’t like Mrs Blandish at all but......more