The Summons
Captain Harry Luttrell receives a telegram aboard his yacht in Stockholm. It offers him a military transfer, a chance to advance the career he has built his identity around. But the evening's festivities await, and so does Stella Croyle, a woman who represents everything his disciplined life has always warned him against. As he grapples with the choice between duty and desire, ambition and love, the novel unfolds as a quiet psychological drama about the moment when a man must decide who he truly wants to be. His conversations with friend Sir Charles Hardiman lay bare the conflict between the soldier he has been and the person he might become. Written by A.E.W. Mason, The Summons captures the particular anguish of early 20th century masculinity where honor and heart rarely align.
