The Last September

"Brilliant…. A successful combination of social comedy and private tragedy."—The Times Literary Supplement
 
Elizabeth Bowen masterfully depicts the Anglo-Irish aristocracy's decline during the Irish War of Independence. Set in the 1920s on a vast country estate, the novel portrays the social and political turbulence through the lens of the Naylor family. Bowen's nuanced characterization and vivid descriptions paint a poignant picture of a world of wealth filled with tennis parties and army camp dances—on the brink of disintegration. Nineteen-year-old Lois Farquar embodies the tensions between tradition and modernity in an existential coming-of-age crisis as she navigates personal and societal upheaval. Bowen skillfully encapsulates Lois's transition from adolescence to adulthood. The Last September is a compelling read exploring identity, the inevitable passage of time, and the fight for freedom—both political and spiritual.
 
"[Elizabeth Bowen] is one of the handful of great…novelists of this century." —The Washington Post.
 
"Had Elizabeth Bowen been a man she would be recognised as one of the finest novelists of the 20th century." John Banville—The Irish Times