The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson

 Beatrice Nash has recently lost her father and has moved to a small town in Sussex in 1914.  She has a small inheritance, but it is held in trust, so she is trying to be independant by working as a Latin teacher.  The town has a complex social structure, and Beatrice is befriended by one of the leading women, Agatha Kent, and by her two nephews, Hugh and Daniel.  It is a beautiful summer, but there are rumblings about war with the Kaiser.  When Belgium falls, the whole town is caught up in a patriotic frenzie, but it slowly and inexerably gives way to the grim realities of living with war. As things spiral out of control, both Beatrice and Agatha put asside social convention to follow their hearts, with mixed results.

I picked this book because it was written by the same author as Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, which I loved. I ended up really likeing this one as well.  Not only is Simonson a brilliant word crafter, but she has such a delicate touch with characters and relationships.  She does a good job of balancing the heart wrenching realities with light hearted jabs at small town social wrangling. The story unfolds like a rose bud, a little at a time until it reaches full bloom. This is another historical fiction that I will be recommending to a lot of friends. (2016, 512 p.)