Summer Before the Dark

By: Doris Lessing

Write A Review

Paperback | 1 February 1996

At a Glance

Paperback
240 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
20 x 13.5 x 1.5

Paperback

$35.75

or 4 interest-free payments of $8.94 with

or

Ships in 10 to 15 business days

The story of a middle-aged woman's search for freedom, from Doris Lessing, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Her four children have flown, her husband is otherwise occupied, and after twenty years of being a good wife and mother, Kate Brown is free for a summer of adventure. She plunges into an affair with a younger man, travelling abroad with him, and, on her return to England, meets an extraordinary young woman whose charm and freedom of spirit encourages Kate in her own liberation. Kate's new life has brought her a strange unhappiness, but as the summer months unfold, a darker, disquieting journey begins, devastating in its consequences.

A novel of self-discovery that bears the hallmarks of Lessing's brilliance, honesty and power to move the reader, 'The Summer Before the Dark' has been hailed by some as Lessing's best book.

Industry Reviews

'This is probably the best book Doris Lessing has ever written. It would be a deprivation not to read it at once.' Economist 'An honest, perceptive, serious book.' Irish Times 'Painfully, poignantly authentic' David Lodge, New Statesman 'A summer journey of self-discovery which ends amazingly, in an act of self-definition so searching, so acute and total, one puts down the book shaken, enlarged, in awe. It is an ostensibly simple story, simply told, developing all the way and deepening: the particular universalised in a narrative of compelling power. No wonder Mrs Lessing has been spoken of in the same breath as Nabokov and Solzhenitsyn.' Sunday Times

Shipping

	Standard Shipping	Express Shipping
Metro postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Regional postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Rural postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95

Orders over $89.00 qualify for free shipping.

How to return your order

At Booktopia, we offer hassle-free returns in accordance with our returns policy. If you wish to return an item, please get in touch with Booktopia Customer Care.

Additional postage charges may be applicable.

Defective items

If there is a problem with any of the items received for your order then the Booktopia Customer Care team is ready to assist you.

For more info please visit our Help Centre.

More in Modern & Contemporary Fiction

Mad Mabel

Paperback

RRP $34.99

$19.99

43%
OFF

Paperback

RRP $34.99

$19.99

43%
OFF

Songwriters on the Run

Paperback

RRP $34.99

$24.99

29%
OFF

Paperback

RRP $24.99

$17.99

28%
OFF

Seascraper

Paperback

RRP $24.99

$21.75

13%
OFF

Yeah the Boys

Paperback

RRP $34.99

$26.99

23%
OFF

The Bookshop of Buried Pasts

Paperback

RRP $34.99

$28.75

18%
OFF

When Lemons Give You Life

Paperback

RRP $34.99

$19.99

43%
OFF

Summer Before the Dark

At a Glance

Paperback

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

More in Modern & Contemporary Fiction

Mad Mabel

The Correspondent

SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2026

Between Sisters

Theo of Golden

Good Boy

The Nocturnals

An endearing and witty novel of love and friendship from the bestselling author of The Best Kind of Beautiful

The Witness

Third in the series from the bestselling rural crime author of THE PROSPECT, perfect for readers of Jane Harper, Dinuka McKenzie and Chris Hammer

The Names

'The best debut novel in years' Sunday Times

Wild Dark Shore

Longlisted for the 2026 Stella Prize - A Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick - 'A triumph . . . Breathtaking.' - HANNAH KENT

Pilbara

Songwriters on the Run

The Name Game

the mind-bending, heart-mending new love story from the author of The Flatshare

A Rising of the Lights

One Night at Silver Lake

The Couples Retreat

Go Gentle

The joyful new novel from the author of Where d You Go Bernadette

Metro 2035

The third darkly thrilling book in the METRO series and inspiration behind the bestselling METRO video game franchise

Things I Cannot Say

An important and powerful debut for fans of Graeme Simsion and Anne Buist.

Every Wild Soul

Winner of the inaugural Australian Fiction Prize, perfect for fans of Where The Crawdads Sing and Wild Dark Shore

We All Live Here

Seascraper

Yeah the Boys

The Bookshop of Buried Pasts

When Lemons Give You Life

This product is categorised by