A Summer of the Forest Folk

Irresistibly charming. There’s something of The Wind in the Willows, something of The Faggots and Their Friends Between Revolutions, something of Swallows and Amazons, and something uniquely its own as well, A Goodreads review.

A cult classic tale of life in the forest, a European best-seller, never out of print, 52 editions in 102 years, now for the first time in English.

Three women spend each summer in a remote cottage in the last virgin forest of Europe. This summer, they are joined by their teenage nephew from the big city.

First published in 1920 as a story about three men, the book quickly became a classic because of its beautiful style, setting, humor and its heartwarming story. A literary nation has read it for a century. Kids have read it in school. Grandparents have read it to their children. Then, in 2014, a gay scholar caused a brouhaha: The three men were in fact three lesbians!

Not that it matters all that much: this isn’t really an LGBTQ novel. But knowing that the heroes are really heroines gives the book a special resonance: because it is a story about women choosing to live alone in the forest.

Beautifully translated and illustrated to delight you. Come, let yourself be delighted.

Maria Rodziewiczowna (1866-1944) was among the most successful Polish writers of the 20th century and almost all of her books remain in print today.