Long After Summer — Robert Nathan

Our NARRATOR is a middle-aged bachelor who leads a simple but contented life. He enjoys his long summers spent on Cape Cod. Having long since abandoned the “deeper feelings” of youth, his solitary life is altered when JOHANNA, a lonely teenage girl, is sent to care for him during a sudden illness. Johanna is a timid and utterly lonely orphan, sent to live with her relatives on a temporary basis. She blossoms under the tutelage of our narrator, learning for the first time about friendship, tenderness, and love. She even begins a wonderfully sweet and innocent romance with a local boy her age. Eventually, tragedy strikes when the boy dies in a boating accident. Our Narrator watches with growing concern as Johanna lives in a state of denial, reliving the events of the summer, backward, in her own mind. As he and a well-intentioned local priest struggle to help her, our narrator realizes that his true feelings for Johanna run much deeper. Esteemed author, Robert Nathan has woven a heartfelt story of innocence, tragedy, and, his most popular theme, the enduring power of love.

About the Author: Author of such revered books as PORTRAIT OF JENNIE, THE BISHOP'S WIFE, MR. WHITTLE AND THE MORNING STAR, and STONECLIFF, Robert Nathan was born in New York City in 1894 and was educated at private schools in the United States and Switzerland. While attending Harvard University where he was a classmate with E.E. Cummings, Nathan was an editor of the Harvard Monthly, in which his first stories and poems appeared.

While at Cambridge, Nathan also found the time to become an accomplished cellist, a lightweight boxer, and Captain of the fencing team. After leaving college, Mr. Nathan devoted his time exclusively to writing until his passing in 1985. Early on, Nathan's work strengthened his reputation with both the public and peers. F. Scott Fitzgerald once referred to Robert Nathan as his favorite writer. During this period, the legendary Louis B. Mayer contracted him to Hollywood to become a screenwriter. Nathan ultimately didn't enjoy the experience, though the movie industry continually craved his work. Five of his novels have been made into films.

The aforementioned “Portrait of Jennie” and “The Bishop's Wife,” as well as “One More Spring,” “Wake Up and Dream” (from the novel “The Enchanted Voyage”) and “Color of Evening.” Robert Nathan was the author of over fifty volumes of novels, poetry, and plays, and from this body of distinguished work he acquired a reputation as a master of satiric fantasy unique in American Letters. In the twilight of his career he was known as “The Dean of Author's,” since many prominent writers including Irving Stone and Irving Wallace sought out Nathan's guidance. A member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters for fifty years, Mr. Nathan called both Cape Cod and California home. Happily, his last fifteen years were spent in the companionship of his wife, English born actress, Anna Lee.