The Cherokee perspective: A novel of ambition and dislocation USA
Coming-of-Age novel set on Mudeford Spit, DORSET
22nd April 2026
The First Act of Summer by Joanna Glen, coming-of-age novel set on Mudeford Spit, Dorset
Hester is about to turn 60 and she is in her favourite place in all the world, in her hut on Mudeford Spit, far away from her two daughters and from her husband Lance, who may be in their London pied-à-terre or at the family home in Bosham, she doesn’t much care.
She is here to reflect on her life so far, to consider the choices she has made in life, and the reader is joining her on the introspective journey.
She looks back to family summers in this beautiful place, the spit separating Christchurch Harbour from the sea, where the Stour and Avon Rivers meet. As Hester says: “It is still so marvellous to wake up on a finger of sand in the middle of the sea, to be cut off from cars and people and real life by the metal barrier beyond the woods that closes when the last Noddy train is put to bed”. A perfect spot, then, for reflection.
However, her memories are not without remorse as she ponders her childhood years. As the story opens, there are hints – as the years pass – that something momentous will happen and indeed it is quietly shocking when it does. She describes the group of regular Summer visitors and how every Summer she keenly looks forward to meeting up with her special friend, Elias, a wild and intense child with long hair and a mother who clearly struggles with mental health. She plays the harp beautifully.
Mudeford Quay (Unsplash, Kevin Wright)
As the Summers pass, new children join the group and as dynamics shift, hormones and concomitant desires begin to shatter the placid, easy-going life.
Now, in her older years, Hester seeks to come to terms with some very poor life choices, the significant losses in her life. She settles down to contemplate where her life should go.
The story was a little slow to get going, moving between “Past” (which encompasses several years during childhood, culminating in the teenage years) and “Present“, where Hester settles into the daily rhythms of life by the sea. It is a thoughtful portrayal of childhood moving into adulthood, and is ultimately a rewarding read. It offers an interesting insight into this remote area in Dorset. It sets the unfolding years against a backdrop of true events, often featuring occasions in the lives of the royal family. The story comes to its conclusion as the death of the Queen is announced in 2022.
(By the way, one of these cabins – as described in the novel – can fetch up to half a million English pounds! Madness!)
Tina for the TripFiction Team
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