A Song for Summer

In A Song for Summer, bestselling award-winner Eva Ibbotson propels you into idyllic beautiful Austria and a love story set in the shadow of gathering war. 'Discovering Eva Ibbotson's books is one of the nicest things that's ever happened to me' - Marian Keyes, author of Rachel's Holiday In the spring of 1937, Ellen Carr abandons grey, dreary London to become housekeeper at an experimental school in Austria, where she soon knows she's found her calling. Swept into an idyllic world of mountains, music, eccentric teachers and wayward children, Ellen brings order and joy to all around her. But it's the handsome, mysterious gardener, Marek, who intrigues her. As Hitler's troops march across Europe, Ellen finds she has promises to keep, even if it means sacrificing her future happiness . . . Escape into more classic romance with Eva Ibbotson's: The Morning Gift, The Secret Countess, A Company of Swans, Magic Flutes and Madensky Square.

Eva Ibbotson was born in Vienna in 1925 and moved to England with her father when the Nazis came into power. Ibbotson wrote more than twenty books for children and young adults, many of which garnered nominations for major awards for children's literature in the UK, including the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize and the Whitbread Prize. Eva's critically acclaimed Journey to the River Sea won the Smarties Gold Medal in 2001. Set in the Amazon, it was written in honour of her deceased husband Alan, a former naturalist. Imaginative and humorous, Eva's books often convey her love of nature, in particular the Austrian countryside, which is evident in works such as The Star Of Kazan and A Song For Summer. Eva passed away at her home in Newcastle on October 20th 2010. Her final book, One Dog and His Boy, was published in May 2011.