Three Summers
Greece

Three Summers

by Margarita Liberaki

Coming of Age Historical Fiction Classics Fiction 1946

Summary

Set in the Greek countryside near Athens in the years before the Second World War, Three Summers follows three sisters as they navigate adolescence, love, desire, and the mysteries of family life. Maria, the eldest, is passionate and eager to marry and start a family; Infanta is beautiful, independent, and emotionally reserved; while Katerina, the youngest and the novel’s principal narrator, is dreamy, rebellious, and fascinated by the world around her. Across three summers, the sisters fall in love, keep secrets, observe the complicated relationships of adults, and begin to imagine the women they might become. Against a backdrop of sun-drenched gardens, olive groves, and long, languid afternoons, Margarita Liberaki captures the fleeting magic of youth and the bittersweet awareness that childhood cannot last forever. Tender, sensual, and nostalgic, this coming-of-age novel celebrates female independence, sisterhood, and the exhilarating uncertainty of growing up.

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Country
Greece
Europe
About the author
Margarita Liberaki
Margarita Liberaki

Margarita Liberaki (1919–2001) was a Greek novelist, playwright, and screenwriter whose literary work explored female identity, desire, family relationships, and the complexities of growing up. Born in Athens, she was raised by her maternal grandparents after her parents divorced. Her grandfather, Georgios D. Fexis, was a prominent publisher and bookseller, giving her an early connection to the literary world. She studied law at the University of Athens before pursuing a writing career, publishing her first novel, The Trees, in 1945. Liberaki achieved lasting recognition with Three Summers (1946), which became a modern classic of Greek literature. Following her divorce, she moved to Paris, where she developed a career writing plays in both French and Greek. Her other works include The Other Alexander (1950) and The Mystery (1976), alongside numerous plays and screenplays. Her writing is celebrated for its lyrical prose, sensual descriptions of the Greek landscape, and sensitive portrayals of women’s inner lives. Three Summers remains her best-known novel and is widely appreciated for its fresh, unconventional depiction of female adolescence and independence.

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Details
Published
1946
Author
Margarita Liberaki