The Last Summer

A psychological thriller by the pioneering German writer Ricarda Huch. A novel of letters from the last century – but one with an astonishingly modern feel. Now for the first time in English..

Russia at the beginning of the 20th century. To counter student unrest, the governor of St Petersburg closes the state university. Soon afterwards he arrives at his summer residence with his family and receives a death threat. His worried wife employs a young bodyguard, Lju, to protect her husband. Little does she know that Lju sides with the students – and the students are plotting an assassination.



Why Peirene chose to publish this book:

'I came upon this novel in the original German a year ago. And I loved it. It's a proper epistolary novel. Even though written more than 100 years ago, it feels as relevant now as then. The Last Summer asks how people can be trapped by an ideology? A topical story. An enjoyable read. A gem.'

Meike Ziervogel, publisher

'I was gripped by this remarkable short novel, a cavalcade of individual voices emerge with great freshness from the shadow of revolution. It is both a work of its time, and a timeless work.'

Imogen Robertson

'She is the First Lady of Germany. No, she is probably the First Lady of Europe.'

Thomas Mann

'The very model of the stylish female troublemaker... a social revolutionary in the deepest sense.'

Clive James



Ricarda Huch (1864 –1947) was a ground-breaking German historian, novelist and philosopher. As one of the first women to study at the University in Zurich, she received her doctorate in Philosophy and History in 1892. She authored numerous works on European history. She also wrote novels, poems, and a play. Der Letzte Sommer (The Last Summer) was first published in 1910. In 1926 she was the first female writer to be admitted to the Prussian Academy of Arts. She won from Thomas Mann the title: 'The First Lady of Germany' – and even had an asteroid named in her honour.