The Gazebo: A Novel - Hardcover

Grayson, Emily

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0688167535 ISBN 13: 9780688167530

Publisher: William Morrow and Company, 1999

Synopsis

The Gazebo is an elegantly written story of enduring love and loyalty, in the popular tradition of The Bridges of Madison County and The Notebook.

Once a year for half a century, a man and a woman have been meeting at the gazebo in the square of a small town in upstate New York. Martin Rayfiel and Claire Swift long ago married other people, yet they have remained faithful to their vow to love each other always. When Martin, now a handsome, elderly man, walks into the office of the town newspaper and tries to tell his tale to the young editor Abby Reston, she is too busy to listen. But the next day Abby finds herself drawn to the gazebo to watch for the annual arrival of Martin and Claire. She waits and waits, but they don't come. Puzzled and intrigued, Abby finds a briefcase that Martin left behind for her, and in it--in photographs, papers, tape recordings, and mementos--is the entire astonishing story of Martin and Claire, a love affair that spanned the globe and somehow survived for fifty years.

The only son of the town's wealthiest family, Martin dreamed of being a world-class chef, while Claire, born of poor parents, hoped to be a sculptor. Despite their disparate backgrounds, and in defiance of small-town morality, they left everything behind and traveled together through Europe, until family allegiances suddenly and unexpectedly called Claire home. Before they parted, they vowed that, no matter what, they would meet at the gazebo once a year. Now it's up to Abby to find out what drove these lovers apart, why they continued to meet over the decades, and where they are now.From the picturesque square in the center of a small town to the hotels, restaurants, museums, and boulevards of Paris, Florence, and London, Martin and Claire's story offers a voyage of discovery that transforms Abby Reston's own life. The Gazebo is a haunting tale of love and faithfulness that no reader will ever forget.

About this title

Review:

The Bridges of Madison County meets Same Time Next Year in Emily Grayson's The Gazebo. Overburdened single mother Abby Reston is hard at work as editor of her small upstate New York hometown newspaper when Martin Rayfiel appears at her door unannounced. Too busy to pay much attention to the handsome elderly man as he attempts to tell her his story of love, loyalty, and loss that spanned half a century, Abby finds herself intrigued in spite of her efforts to ignore the stranger in her office. After he leaves, Abby is unable to forget what Martin has revealed of his love affair with Claire Swift, the girl from the wrong side of the tracks, which began many years ago when they were high school students who met by chance. Tragically separated by family loyalty and acrimony, the couple had agreed to meet every year on May 27 at the gazebo in the center of town, the date and site of their first meeting. Abby finds herself drawn to the gazebo the next day, May 27, to await the reunion of the star-crossed lovers. But they never show. Instead, Abby discovers a briefcase filled with a lifetime of mementos, memories, and a tape-recording from Martin detailing the affair that spanned social boundaries, decades, and continents. The Gazebo reminds readers never to let opportunities to love another slip by. --Alison Trinkle

About the Author:

Emily Grayson is the author of four previous novels, The Gazebo, The Observatory, The Fountain, and Waterloo Station. She lives in New York City with her husband and children.

About this edition

• Publisher: William Morrow and Company
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0688167535
• ISBN 13: 9780688167530
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224