The Greengage Summer is Rumer Godden's tense, evocative portrait of love and deceit in the Champagne country of the Marne - which became a memorable film starring Kenneth More and Susannah York.

The faded elegance of Les Oeillets, with its bullet-scarred staircase and serene garden bounded by high walls; Eliot, the charming Englishman who became the children's guardian while their mother lay ill in hospital; sophisticated Mademoiselle Zizi, hotel patronne, and Eliot's devoted lover; 16 year old Joss, the oldest Grey girl, suddenly, achingly beautiful. And the Marne river flowing silent and slow beyond them all . . .

They would merge together in a gold-green summer of discovery, until the fruit rotted on the trees and cold seeped into their bones . . .

There are 192 pages in this book. This book was published 2013 by Pan Macmillan .

Rumer Godden, who died in 1998, was one of the UK's most distinguished authors. She wrote many well-known and much-loved books for both adults and children, including The Peacock Spring (also available as a Young Picador) and Black Narcissus.