The Last Summer

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What to expect

Opposites attract in this epic and spellbinding historical novel, which transports us from the untamed beauty of a remote Scottish island to the glamour and intrigues of high society in the 1930s. The Last Summer is the first book in The Wild Isle series by Sunday Times bestseller Karen Swan, inspired by the true history of St Kilda and its small island community.

'The Last Summer is beautifully told . . . a wonderfully satisfying read.' - Santa Montefiore

Summer on St Kilda – a wild, remote Scottish island.
Two strangers from drastically different worlds meet . . .

Wild-spirited Effie Gillies has lived all her life on the small island of St Kilda but when Lord Sholto, heir to the Earl of Dumfries, visits, the attraction between them is instant. For one glorious week she guides the handsome young visitor around the isle, falling in love for the first time – until a storm hits and her world falls apart.

Three months later, St Kilda falls silent as the islanders are evacuated for a better life on the mainland. With her friends and family scattered, Effie is surprised to be offered a position working on the Earl’s estate. Sholto is back in her life but their differences now seem insurmountable, even as the simmering tension between them grows. And when a shocking discovery is made back on St Kilda, all her dreams for this bright new life are threatened by the dark secrets Effie and her friends thought they had left behind.

'The most exciting, enchanting and evocative story of forbidden love I’ve ever read. I truly loved it and am waiting feverishly for the second instalment' - Cathy Bramley, author of The Summer That Changed Us

'Powerful writing and a wonderful premise make this a novel you’ll simultaneously want to savour and race through. I loved it and can’t wait for the next in the series!' - Jill Mansell, author of And Now You're Back

'A delicious romantic tale of wild 1930s Scotland . . . perfect for everyone dreaming of summer' - Rachel Hore, author of A Beautiful Spy

Critics Review

  • This sweeping love story gripped us from the start, so we can’t wait for the next in the series. Best historical romance of 2022

    Independent

  • I so enjoyed The Last Summer by Karen Swan, which provides fascinating details about life on St Kilda prior to the evacuation of its inhabitants from the island. Powerful writing and a wonderful premise make this a novel you’ll simultaneously want to savour and race through. I loved it and can’t wait for the next in the series!

    Jill Mansell

  • The most exciting, enchanting and evocative story of forbidden love I’ve ever read. I truly loved it and am waiting feverishly for the second installment.

    Cathy Bramley

  • A delicious romantic tale of wild 1930s Scotland . . . perfect for everyone dreaming of summer

    Rachel Hore

  • A dramatic start to a gripping new series set on the Scottish island of St Kilda. The Last Summer is meticulously researched and beautifully told by one of our most prolific and talented writers. It contains all the ingredients of a wonderfully satisfying read: love, passion, drama, violence, menace and peril, and characters you fall in love with – and some you hate! Happily, this is the start of a series so your longing for more will be fulfilled.

    Santa Montefiore

  • The queen of destination books…exciting…beguiling…The first in a new series, we’re already looking forward to meeting these characters again . . .

    Woman and Home

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