Winter In April

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An older man plays cupid as his teenage granddaughter discovers love for the first time.
HENRY PENNIFER, an author in his seventies, lives in New York City. He is rearing his teen-aged granddaughter ELLEN whose parents were killed in an accident. Henry is a loving guardian but isn’t always able to relate to Ellen who is growing up before his eyes. Henry hires as his secretary ERIC VON SIEGENFELS, a charming, well-educated German who fled the Nazi regime. Ellen slowly falls in love with the young man. Through Henry’s eyes, we watch as Ellen grapples with her new feelings and her desire to please the object of her affection. This young love leads to a simple but moving gesture of generosity towards Eric’s far-off sister. Robert Nathan weaves a poignant coming of age story which explores the magic, purity, and the selflessness of young love.

“Robert Nathan continues to go against the tide. In an era of sea-level realism he continues to observe, and to look to, some heights of experience that make the motions of living more then endurable… Whether or not Mr. Nathan’s readers will be sorry to see him depart from the spun-glass world of ‘The Fiddler in Barly,’ ‘Jonah,’ ‘The Enchanted Voyage’ and similar fantasies is not to be determined at this advanced date. But they can be assured that as a story-teller of astonishing deftness and design and humanity their author has not changed.”

Stanley Young
New York Times