{
    "id": 318200,
    "slug": "the-summer-guest-alison-anderson",
    "nstc": null,
    "title": "The Summer Guest",
    "subtitle": null,
    "collection_title": null,
    "collection_part_number": null,
    "annotation": "<p><span>Blinded by a fatal illness, young Ukrainian doctor Zinaida Lintvaryova is living on her family&rsquo;s rural estate in the summer of 1888. When a family from Moscow rents a cottage on the grounds, Zinaida develops a deep bond with one of their sons, a doctor and writer of modest but growing fame called Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. Intelligent, curious, and increasingly introspective as her condition worsens, Zinaida keeps a diary chronicling this extraordinary friendship that comes to define the last years of her life.<br /><br />In the winter of 2014, Katya Kendall&rsquo;s London publishing house is floundering-as is her marriage. Katya is convinced that salvation lies in publishing Zinaida&rsquo;s diary, and she approaches translator Ana Harding about the job. As Ana reads the diary, she is captivated by the voice of the dying young doctor. And hidden within Zinaida&rsquo;s words, Ana discovers tantalizing clues suggesting that Chekhov&mdash;who was known to have composed only plays and short stories&mdash;actually wrote a novel during his summers with Zinaida that was subsequently lost. Ana is determined to find Chekhov&rsquo;s &ldquo;lost&rdquo; manuscript, but in her search she discovers it is but one of several mysteries involving Zinaida&rsquo;s diary.<br /><br />Inspired by fragments of historical truth, The Summer Guest is a transportive, masterfully written novel about an unusual, fascinating friendship that transcends the limits of its time and place. It&rsquo;s also a contemporary story about two compelling, women, both of whom find solace in Zinaida and Chekhov as they contemplate all that&rsquo;s missing in their own lives.</span><span>&nbsp;</span></p>",
    "description": "<p><span>Blinded by a fatal illness, young Ukrainian doctor Zinaida Lintvaryova is living on her family&rsquo;s rural estate in the summer of 1888. When a family from Moscow rents a cottage on the grounds, Zinaida develops a deep bond with one of their sons, a doctor and writer of modest but growing fame called Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. Intelligent, curious, and increasingly introspective as her condition worsens, Zinaida keeps a diary chronicling this extraordinary friendship that comes to define the last years of her life.<br /><br />In the winter of 2014, Katya Kendall&rsquo;s London publishing house is floundering-as is her marriage. Katya is convinced that salvation lies in publishing Zinaida&rsquo;s diary, and she approaches translator Ana Harding about the job. As Ana reads the diary, she is captivated by the voice of the dying young doctor. And hidden within Zinaida&rsquo;s words, Ana discovers tantalizing clues suggesting that Chekhov&mdash;who was known to have composed only plays and short stories&mdash;actually wrote a novel during his summers with Zinaida that was subsequently lost. Ana is determined to find Chekhov&rsquo;s &ldquo;lost&rdquo; manuscript, but in her search she discovers it is but one of several mysteries involving Zinaida&rsquo;s diary.<br /><br />Inspired by fragments of historical truth, The Summer Guest is a transportive, masterfully written novel about an unusual, fascinating friendship that transcends the limits of its time and place. It&rsquo;s also a contemporary story about two compelling, women, both of whom find solace in Zinaida and Chekhov as they contemplate all that&rsquo;s missing in their own lives.</span><span>&nbsp;</span></p>",
    "imprint": null,
    "language_code": "eng",
    "original_language_code": null,
    "page_count": null,
    "duration_seconds": null,
    "publication_date_first": "2016-05-24",
    "publication_date_latest": "2016-05-24",
    "cover_url": null,
    "editions": [
        {
            "isbn": "9780062423368",
            "product_form": "BC"
        }
    ],
    "ratings_count": 0,
    "read_count": 0,
    "review_count": 0,
    "favorite_count": 0,
    "reading_status_read_count": 0,
    "reading_status_reading_count": 0,
    "reading_status_want_to_read_count": 0,
    "rating_average": null,
    "ratings_distribution": {
        "1": 0,
        "2": 0,
        "3": 0,
        "4": 0,
        "5": 0
    },
    "created_at": "2025-09-19T13:17:45+00:00",
    "updated_at": "2025-10-29T00:25:02+00:00",
    "publisher": {
        "id": 4570,
        "slug": "harpercollins",
        "name": "HarperCollins",
        "created_at": "2025-09-19T12:35:03+00:00",
        "updated_at": "2025-09-19T15:11:45+00:00"
    },
    "contributors": [
        {
            "id": 190094,
            "slug": "alison-anderson",
            "key_names": "Anderson",
            "names_before_key": "Alison",
            "prefix_to_key": null,
            "contributor_role": "A01",
            "readable_contributor_role": "Author"
        }
    ],
    "genres": [],
    "subjects": []
}