Super Short Summary

Summer by Edith Wharton is set in rural New England and follows Charity, a young woman desperate to escape her small town. She secures a job at the local library and meets Lucius Harney, a New York architect, leading to a romantic affair. Lucius ultimately chooses another woman, and Charity, pregnant and despondent, returns to her adoptive father, who marries her to preserve her reputation. The novel addresses themes such as female sexual passion and the societal issues surrounding unwed pregnancies from a feminine perspective.