Last of Summer (F)

First published in 1943, Virago's Modern Classic series re-releases Kate O'Brien's (1897-1974) The Last of Summer with an introduction by poet Eavan Boland. Young French actress Angale Maury is traveling in Ireland in 1939; on a whim she visits the village of Drumaninch, her late father's birthplace. There she meets her relatives, the Kernahans: Aunt Hannah and cousins Tom, Martin and Jo. In no time at all, Tom and Martin are smitten with her; she favors Tom and, of course, their proclamations of love stir up complications all around. A gently beguiling tale with hints of darkness at the edges.