The novel was rather controversial for its time and is one of the less famous among her novels because of its subject matter. Its themes include social class, the role of women in society, destructive relationships, sexual awakening and the desire of its protagonist, named Charity Royall.

While most novels by Edith Wharton dealt with New York's upper-class society, this is one of two novels by Wharton that were set in New England. The book is written by a master story-teller, an author who fairly presents both sides of our often violent history.Summer is a novel by Edith Wharton, which was published in 1917 by Charles Scribner's Sons. I highly recommend this book for an honest appraisal of clashing cultures. I found Empire of the Summer Moon an enlightening source of history of both the Plains Indians and the early frontier settlers. He became a spokesman and even traveled to Washington, D.C. When it was obvious that the nomadic free life of the Indian was no longer a reality, Quanah guided his people in adapting to their inevitable new way of life. Quanah Parker grew to became a brilliant, feared war chief. Afterward, Cynthia Ann was miserable with her white relatives and begged to return to the tribe and her other children. Her two oldest children, Quanah and his brother, escaped. In 1860, when her oldest child, Quanah, was twelve, the Texas Rangers attacked the Indian encampment, killing Cynthia Ann’s husband, and “rescuing” Cynthia Ann and her baby daughter.

Cynthia Ann eventually became a full member of the tribe and married a war chief. In 1836, a fierce band of Comanches, the Quahadis, raided Fort Parker, capturing nine-year old Cynthia Ann Parker together with four of her relatives. In the first half of the nineteenth century, the Comanches were often referred to as “Lords of the Plains.” Those afoot with the early single-shot rifles were no match for mounted Indians skilled with arrows and lances. Army, they did so on horseback, while their opponents rode to battle, then dismounted for the fight.

When they encountered other tribes, or the U.S. In fact, the Comanches were the first plainsmen to use horses in battle.

Gwynne traces the rise of the Comanche people, their fierceness in battle and their mastery of the horse. Gwynne has written a scholarly, unbiased chronicle of the Plains Indians, particularly the Comanches. Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History, has finally sated my curiosity. Quanah Parker has been a fascinating historical figure to me for many years.

Summer moon novel