A Summer in the Twenties

By Peter Dickinson

Book Overview

"A lovely smooth read."--The Washington Post

"A witty, affectionately nostalgic masterpiece."--The Columbus Dispatch

"As absorbingly readable, as well-written as anything Peter Dickinson has written."--The Times Literary Supplement

Praise for Peter Dickinson's mysteries:

"The works of British Mystery Writer Peter Dickinson are like caviar--an acquired taste that can easily lead to addiction. Dickinson . . . does not make much of the process of detection, nor does he specialize in suspense. Instead, he neatly packs his books with such old-fashioned virtues as mood, character, and research."--Time

"Dickinson (author of engagingly offbeat thrillers and children's books) does splendidly here with atmosphere, with the eccentric supporting characters, with the occasionally bizarre comic touches."--Kirkus Reviews

In 1926 the British government was worried about revolution. Two million people are about to go on strike and class warfare is about to erupt. Tom Hankey is caught between his love for Judy, a bright young thing, and Kate, a fireball agitator. Brought home from Oxford by his father, Tom volunteers to drive a train in the General Strike. When the train is ambushed, Tom is thrust into the darkest and most threatening regions of English politics. Gritty yet sparkling and full of unexpected turnarounds, A Summer in the Twenties resonates and captivates.

Peter Dickinson has twice received the Crime Writers' Association's Gold Dagger. His novels include Death of a Unicorn, The Poison Oracle, and many more. He lives in England and is married to the novelist Robin McKinley.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1618730843
• ISBN13: 9781618730848
• Release Date: July 2014
• Publisher: Small Beer Press
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.4" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Love, Britian & Trainwrecks

I went thru a phase where I was reading everything about the decade of the 1920's, and this ereditely-written mystery novel was one of the better "modern" novels I read. It's British, so it's an interesting look at what was going on across the pond at the time, what with railroad strikes and class-conflicts.I read Dickinson's lovely, lyrical text alongside a non-fiction book, "That Jazz!: An Idiosyncratic Social History of the American Twenties" that I also highly recommend for those who like their fictions in contexts.

One of Dickinson's best

It's a shame there are no other reviews here. This is one of Peter Dickinson's best non-series adult 'mysteries.' The quote marks are necessary because he never does just one thing in his books, and the mystery is often framed completely differently than the genre dictates. Here he's really exploring the nature of class differences and giving a skimpy but revealing reinterpretation of Marxism--and also love. But don't get put off by that. The story moves, the characters are interesting and the exploration of them gets to some depths, and some scenes are delights. I think Dickinson is the best, or at least most creative, mystery writer there is, and this book is in his top 10. That puts it a notch above anything by Dick Francis (whom I like a lot), all of Sue Grafton, nearly all of Dorothy Sayers, nearly all of Laurie King (ditto for all of them).... And Dickinson is many orders of magnitude better than hacks like Patterson, Grisham, etc.