57 pages • 1 hour read
Summer Island: A Novel
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Background
Authorial Context: Kristin Hannah
Kristin Hannah is an American author who has published over 20 novels. She rose to fame with the publication of her historical fiction novel The Nightingale (2015). Hannah was over 50 when The Nightingale reached immense commercial success, and the novel is currently in production to become a film. While she has written primarily historical fiction novels since The Nightingale, her early work, including Summer Island, was more focused on women’s issues, including relationships and family dynamics. Hannah lives in the Pacific Northwest, where many of her books take place.
Hannah continues to write about women’s issues, especially instances where women were ignored or misrepresented by history. Her latest novel, The Women (2024), focuses on female nurses during the Vietnam War.
Genre Context: Beach Reads and Women’s Fiction
The “beach read” or “summer read” is known to offer escape and respite from daily life. It is often associated with a female readership and is stigmatized as being less substantive than other forms of literature. This form most likely emerged
Around the turn of the nineteenth century, [when] urbanization and industrialization gave summertime a new radiance—it offered a chance to escape the sweaty, overcrowded city and reconnect with nature. The steamship and the railroad made vacation getaways more accessible. Periodicals and newspapers began running features on resort towns and advertised summer activities and goods: cruises, camping gear, mineral springs.
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By Kristin Hannah
