The Ladies' Lending Library

“A deeply thoughtful, beautifully written novel.” — Washington Post Book World

A portrait of women caught between countries, cultures, and aspirations—a bittersweet tale, set in the 1960s, of mothers, daughters, friends, and lovers during one unforgettable summer

August, 1963: the year of the sensational release of Cleopatra starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, showcasing a passion too grand to be contained on the movie screen. The women of the Kalyna Beach cottage community, part of a group of first-generation Ukrainian Canadians, gather for gin and gossip, trading the current racy bestsellers among themselves as they seek a brief escape from the predictable rhythms of children and chores.

But dramatic change is coming this summer as innocence falters and the desire for change reaches a boiling point, threatening to disrupt the warm, sweet, heady days and the lives of parents and children, family and friends, forever.