“The Summer Wives is an exquisitely rendered novel that tackles two of my favorite topics: love and money. The glorious setting and drama are enriched by Williams’s signature vintage touch. It’s at the top of my picks for the beach this summer.”
—Elin Hilderbrand, author of The Perfect Couple
New York Times bestselling author Beatriz Williams brings us the blockbuster novel of the season—an … 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.
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The Summer Wives is an exquisitely rendered novel that tackles two of my favorite topics: love and money. The glorious setting and drama are enriched by Williams’s signature vintage touch. It’s at the top of my picks for the beach this summer.
THE SUMMER WIVES by Beatriz Williams is a beautifully-written, multi-generational story of love, family, social status and secrets. It is set on an exclusive island off the New England shore where the rich and elite come to spend their summer months. The vivid setting plays an important role in the lives of both the wealthy “Families” who summer there and the working class Portuguese immigrants who live there year-round, making their living as fishermen and shop owners. The story is told from the points of view of Miranda Schuyler Thomas and Bianca Medeiro, alternating between 1930, 1951 and 1969. The characters are expertly brought to life and it is important to pay close attention to how they are all inter-related. The storyline is well-plotted and has just the right balance of mystery, drama and steamy romance to keep the reader quickly flipping the pages to see how it all turns out. I always enjoy Beatriz Williams’ novels and this one is no exception. I highly recommend it! I received an early copy through the publisher and BookShout.
A terrific, sprawling, absorbing and totally wonderful book. I can’t recommend it enough!
Another stunner by Beatriz Williams. It will probably go down as among my favorites of hers.
This book really kept my attention right from the start. From the setting on the elite Winthrop Island to the characters consisting of the wealthy summer inhabitants to the year-round residents this book had romance, mystery, and suspense. Beatriz did a great job of switching between time periods and characters to slowly piece together what lead up to the current time. I really liked Miranda, the main character – her reasons for returning to the island after a long time away were heartbreaking and I found myself hoping for a good outcome for her. I received an ARC of this book at no cost.
Enjoyed it enough to want to read additional books by Beatriz Williams!
Oh, how I love me a good Beatriz Williams book. I first discovered her when I picked up A Hundred Summers at a library sale and I’ve been devouring her work since. The Summer Wives is another book to go down in my favorites. And please check out her website (beatrizwilliams.com) because seriously, the main photo is EXACTLY how I pictured Greyfriars. It made me ridiculously happy to see that picture. I absolutely love when the book in my mind is envisioned the same by someone else. I’m sure you know what else that means. It means the author wrote it so exceptionally well that you saw what SHE WANTED YOU TO. Williams does that to a T. Consistently.
Summer Wives is a book that will stay with you the entire time and after. Whenever I had to stop reading because of responsibilities, you know, like kids, my mind continued to go back to the book. I had to know what was going to happen next with whom. With many characters in this story, you may find it difficult at first, but each develops their own personality and story and that difficulty falls away. This mainly happened to me with the Medeiro family, but it worked itself out. The scenery of an island off the coast of Long Island is described impeccably. The drama of love and money in the time of WASPs and islanders over the decades is enticing and clever. Vintage in feel, Williams has herself another winner with The Summer Wives.
Side note, I’m not going to lie. When the main character’s name was revealed as Miranda Schuyler (Thomas), I went digging to see if there was a crossover of some kind from her Schuyler sister novels, but I couldn’t find one. Beatriz, if you’re reading this, please put my mind at ease and let me know. K, thanks.
I received an advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
Quite possibly the best Beatriz Williams novel yet. I fell in love with all the characters and felt drawn into their lives. I felt their sorrows and celebrated their joys. This one kept me up reading very late, as I could not put this book down. The ending was one of the best.
The setting for this book is a little known exclusive island off the coast of Long Island, and the story spans decades there.
The author shows us both sides of the people that live here, the wealthy summer residents, and the immigrant Portuguese’s, mainly the businesses and help.
Be ready for a bit of mystery, murder, and how the population here is related to one another. There are several bombshells dropped, some of which I saw coming, but others are complete surprises. I guess, when the final facts come to light they do make sense.
You will be quickly page turning to find all the facts here, but when the last page is turned there is a feeling of loss and a want for more.
I received this book through Edelweiss and the Publisher William Morrow, and was not required to give a positive review.
Miranda has come back after eighteen years to the island where she has spent every summer since her mother married into the prestigious Fisher family. She hasn’t told anyone the reason why she has returned to Winthrop’s Island with bruises that no one mentions, but since she stays for a relatively long time, the reason can be assumed even though it might be the wrong guess.
Miranda’s return isn’t a welcome event even after all of this time, though, because of her testimony at the trial of the lighthouse keeper’s son back in 1951 when she was eighteen and in love with the accused.
Miranda hadn’t grown up with the elite and wealthy. When her mother married Hugh Fisher after her father was killed in WWII, she is introduced to that life and also sees how the year-round residents who fish and work as domestics live.
THE SUMMER WIVES goes back and forth from 1930 to 1951 and then to 1969. We learn about Miranda’s life, the lives of the Fisher and Monk families, the lives of other island residents, and the lives of the domestic help are all connected by one specific incident during those years.
I enjoyed the story from the 1950’s the best. It was the most interesting and the least confusing. The 1930’s didn’t make sense to me how it fit in, but as I kept reading, I found out that it kept a secret and held a BIG surprise.
Ms. Williams has written another book that will hold your interest but has a bit of confusing story line with all the back and forth.
THE SUMMER WIVES is a story of the typical antics and lives of privileged families. We learn that most of the Winthrop Island families may have had money, but most of them are not happy.
THE SUMMER WIVES has a great setting, good story line, and has characters with problems and secrets both past and present.
I enjoyed Ms. Williams’ latest even though it dragged a bit at times, but the ending had it all coming together and was very satisfying. 4/5
I received an advance copy. All opinions are my own.
I received this book as an ARC from Goodreads.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is a tangled tale about several different women and the men in their lives. It’s also about the haves, and have nots in an era where the lines were clear and not crossed. However, that doesn’t hold true here. There’s villains, and heroes. Romance and heartbreak, and in the end…..what was once important, no longer was. A great story, told very well.
This amazing book has it all! Mystery, romance, secrets, and family drama all rolled into one perfect book! I loved the characters as they were so real and honest. The setting was described perfectly and I was on the island right along with the characters. I was completely drawn into this book and was sad when it ended. I received an advanced readers copy from Edelweiss and William Morrow. All opinions are my own.
I could not get into this book. I felt like it went from one thing to another and I had a hard time keeping up. That being said, I could see some people loving this book! So, I would recommend it.
4 Stars
Love Beatriz Williams!
Good read
Interesting look at the social levels on a vacation island in New England. Fast-paced conclusion. Wonder if the novel writing trend of multiple timelines out of order has peaked–three timelines in this one and a lot of moving back and forth.
Loved this book…
I truly enjoyed this book. The author did a great job building up the characters and making the reader feel like they knew them. Semi-predictable ending but I enjoyed it nonetheless!
I adored this book.