Farewell, Summer

Written shortly before the bestselling . . . And Ladies of the Club, this slim novel tells, in the leisurely, old-fashioned style that has endeared Santmyer to many readers, about an ill-fated love affair that occurred in the town of Sunbury, Ohio, one summer, long ago. Damaris, a high-spirited beauty, returns home from a convent school and announces she wants to become a nun, an unthinkable idea to her Dutch Presbyterian family. Her cousin Steve, a dreamy young man who yearns to be a poet, comes to Sunbury after his father's death to seek his fortune. The inevitable happens. The two young people, with some encouragement from Damaris's grandfather, begin a flirtation. Steve falls hard, but is caught short by Damaris's shrewd assessment of their personalities: ""We need anchors. Together we'd be driftwood.'' The story leads to an inevitable, disastrous conclusion. This slight, melancholic tale is more successful than Herbs and Apples, less so, of course, than Santmyer's life work ``. . . And Ladies.'' The author shines in her loving recollections of turn-of-the-century Ohio and her exploration of the ties that bindand breakfamilies. (April)