Case 9
- Novels, Southern Alps
Essie Summers. Moon over the Alps. London: Mills & Boon, 1960.
In the course of more than twenty years, Essie Summers wrote several novels based in the high country beyond Lake Tekapo in South Canterbury. Because of personal links with Lilybank Station, she knew the area well. Local settlers also produced non-fiction accounts of its history and terrain. Her affection for the area and its farming families stands out in the novels she set there.
The first is Moon over the Alps, which pays romantic tribute to life above the winter snow line amidst beauty and peril. Its first edition cover is a classic of 1960s design.
Essie Summers. Return to Dragonshill. London: Mills & Boon, 1971.
Summers' second novel located in the Alps is Summer in December (Case 13), and in the third, Return to Dragonshill, the attraction of this dramatic countryside proves irresistible.
Essie Summers. Beyond the Foothills. London: Mills and Boon, 1976.
Beyond the Foothills reflects the author's admiration for Canadian writer L M Montgomery, with echoes of names, convincing portraits of children, and misleading first impressions. A final outing to the same region featured in Winter in July (Case 13).
Essie Summers. One More River to Cross. London: Mills & Boon, 1979.
Neighbouring stations and families are front and centre in One More River to Cross, in which cousins who look like twins attempt impersonation with complex results.
