The Year Without Summer

In 1815, a supervolcanic eruption led to the extraordinary 'Year Without Summer' in 1816: a massive climate disruption causing famine, poverty and riots. Snow fell in August. Lives, both ordinary and privileged, changed forever. Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein. The artist, John Constable, sought refuge in Suffolk. As crops failed, the dispossessed rose up in rebellion, threatening to burn the old order to the ground.

1815, Sumbawa Island, Indonesia

Mount Tambora explodes in a cataclysmic eruption, killing thousands. Sent to investigate, ship surgeon Henry Hogg can barely believe his eyes. Once a paradise, the island is now solid ash, the surrounding sea turned to stone. But worse is yet to come as the ash cloud rises and covers the sun, the seasons will fail.

1816.

In Switzerland, Mary Shelley finds dark inspiration. Confined inside by the unseasonable weather, thousands of famine refugees stream past her door. In Vermont, preacher Charles Whitlock begs his followers to keep faith as drought dries their wells and their livestock starve. In Britain, the ambitious and lovesick painter John Constable struggles to reconcile the idyllic England he paints with the misery that surrounds him. In the Fens, farm labourer Sarah Hobbs has had enough of going hungry while the farmers flaunt their wealth. And Hope Peter, returned from the Napoleonic wars, finds his family home demolished and a fence gone up in its place. He flees to London, where he falls in with a group of revolutionaries who speak of a better life, whatever the cost. As desperation sets in, Britain becomes racked with riots - rebellion is in the air.

For fans of David Mitchell and Andrew Miller, THE YEAR WITHOUT SUMMER tells the story of a fateful year when temperatures fell and the summer failed to arrive. It is a story of the books written, the art made; of the journeys taken, of the love longed for and the lives lost. Six separate lives, connected only by an event many thousands of miles away. Few had heard of Tambora - but none could escape its effects.

“Vivid, vibrant, hard to put down. Who'd have thought a book about calamitous climate change could also be such a joy to read? - Hilary Spurling The Year Without Summer is an astonishing, riveting accomplishment. With a masterful grace and poetic beauty , Guinevere Glasfurd crafts a story that, although steeped in a particular historical moment, resonates profoundly for the times we live in now. A truly remarkable book about a remarkable year in history. - Emily Rapp, author of THE STILL POINT OF THE TURNING WORLDIn 1815, a volcanic eruption in Indonesia brings ash and ice, ushering in strange storms and political turmoil. The old ways disappear and there is a hunger for justice and equality. The Year Without Summer is a worldwide canvas peopled by passionate individuals who long for a better future, each one brought to life in vivid, heartbreaking detail. - Marianne Kavanagh, author of FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE”

Superb . . . a stay-up-all-night page-turner . . . a beautifully written, angry, unflinching and unforgettable novel. - Financial Times

Vividly realised . . . this second novel does not disappoint - The Times

Glasfurd is a skilful writer and the book offers much to enjoy - Sunday Times

Guinevere Glasfurd's follow-up to her 2016 Costa-shortlisted debut The Words in My Hand is another superb saga, rich in both historical detail and human interest . . . [Glasfurd] combines her intricate storyline with an impressively realised sense of a world being dragged into the modern age - Observer

A rich, well-written, and entirely convincing work of historical fiction. Each story adds a dimension to the exploration of climate disaster across social class and geography ... in The Year Without Summer we are offered both a vision of the past and a vision of the future - Irish Times

A vivid slice of historical fiction - Sunday Express

Guinevere Glasfurd's ingenious and absorbing storytelling brought both the very human and epic impact of the world's worst volcanic catastrophe to life in an indelible way that brings the past right into the present - Kirsty Wark, author of THE LEGACY OF ELIZABETH PRINGLE

Vivid, vibrant, hard to put down. Who'd have thought a book about calamitous climate change could also be such a joy to read? - Hilary Spurling

Guinevere Glasfurd is a critically acclaimed novelist. Her debut novel, The Words in my Hand, was shortlisted for the 2016 Costa First Novel Award and Authors' Club Best First Novel Award and was longlisted in France for the Prix du Roman FNAC. Her second novel, The Year Without Summer, was written with support from the MacDowell Foundation, longlisted for the Walter Scott Historical Fiction Prize 2021 and shortlisted for the HWA Gold Crown Award 2020. Awarded grants from the Arts Council England and the British Council for her work, her writing has also appeared in The Scotsman, Mslexia and in a collection published by the National Galleries of Scotland. Originally from Lancaster, she now lives near Cambridge with her husband and daughter.

In 1815, a supervolcanic eruption led to the extraordinary 'Year Without Summer' in 1816: a massive climate disruption causing famine, poverty and riots. Snow fell in August. Lives, both ordinary and privileged, changed forever. Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein . The artist, John Constable, sought refuge in Suffolk. As crops failed, the dispossessed rose up in rebellion, threatening to burn the old order to the ground. 1815, Sumbawa Island, IndonesiaMount Tambora explodes in a cataclysmic eruption, killing thousands. Sent to investigate, ship surgeon Henry Hogg can barely believe his eyes. Once a paradise, the island is now solid ash, the surrounding sea turned to stone. But worse is yet to come as the ash cloud rises and covers the sun, the seasons will fail. 1816. In Switzerland, Mary Shelley finds dark inspiration. Confined inside by the unseasonable weather, thousands of famine refugees stream past her door. In Vermont, preacher Charles Whitlock begs his followers to keep faith as drought dries their wells and their livestock starve. In Britain, the ambitious and lovesick painter John Constable struggles to reconcile the idyllic England he paints with the misery that surrounds him. In the Fens, farm labourer Sarah Hobbs has had enough of going hungry while the farmers flaunt their wealth. And Hope Peter , returned from the Napoleonic wars, finds his family home demolished and a fence gone up in its place. He flees to London, where he falls in with a group of revolutionaries who speak of a better life, whatever the cost. As desperation sets in, Britain becomes racked with riots - rebellion is in the air. For fans of David Mitchell and Andrew Miller , THE YEAR WITHOUT SUMMER tells the story of a fateful year when temperatures fell and the summer failed to arrive. It is a story of the books written, the art made; of the journeys taken, of the love longed for and the lives lost. Six separate lives, connected only by an event many thousands of miles away. Few had heard of Tambora - but none could escape its effects.

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