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The Summons
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Read The Summons

The Summons (2002) (edit title/settings)

by John Grisham (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

Once Judge Atlee was a powerful figure in Clanton, Mississippi--a pillar of the community who towered over local law and politics for forty years. Now the judge is a shadow of his former self, a sick, lonely old man who has withdrawn to his sprawling ancestral home. Knowing the end is near,... read more

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Summary edit see section history

Ray Atlee is a professor of law at the University of Virginia. He’s forty-three, newly single, and still enduring the aftershocks of a surprise divorce. He has a younger brother, Forrest, who redefines the notion of a family’s black sheep.

And he has a father, a very sick old man who... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

Ray Atlee is a professor of law at the University of Virginia. He’s forty-three, newly single, and still enduring the aftershocks of a surprise divorce. He has a younger brother, Forrest, who redefines the notion of a family’s black sheep.

And he has a father, a very sick old man who lives alone in the ancestral home in Clanton, Mississippi. He is known to all as Judge Atlee, a beloved and powerful official who has towered over local law and politics for forty years. No longer on the bench, the Judge has withdrawn to the Atlee mansion and become a recluse.

With the end in sight, Judge Atlee issues a summons for both sons to return home to Clanton, to discuss the details of his estate. It is typed by the Judge himself, on his handsome old stationery, and gives the date and time for Ray and Forrest to appear in his study.

Ray reluctantly heads south, to his hometown, to the place where he grew up, which he prefers now to avoid. But the family meeting does not take place. The Judge dies too soon, and in doing so leaves behind a shocking secret known only to Ray.

And perhaps someone else.

Characters edit see section history

  • Judge Reuben V. Atlee: Ray is a professor of law at the University of Virginia, as well as being the protagonist. He is the executor of his father's estate. He is the reason for all of the trouble with the 3 million dollars.
  • Forrest Atlee: Forrest is Ray's younger brother, and an addict.
  • Mr. Ray Atlee: He's is Forrest and Ray's father. He is the one who dies and leaves the estate to his sons.
  • Dick Docker: A retired Marine pilot.
  • Charlie Yates: A retired Marine pilot.
  • Fog Newton: A retired Marine pilot and Ray's flight instructor.
  • Vicki: Ray's ex-wife
  • Lew the Liquidator: A rich corporate ex-Wall Street manager, who is the reason Vicki divorced Ray. He and Vicki are married and have two children.
  • Carl Mirk: Ray's closest friend and an associative dean.
  • Kayley: A pretty third year student at the college who keeps is interested in Ray.
  • Ellie Crum: Forrest's latest girlfriend.
  • Thurber Foreman: The county coroner
  • Reverend Silas Palmer: The Reverend of the First Presbyterian Church.
  • Mr. B.J. Margargel: A man from the funeral home.
  • Harry Rex Vonner: A brilliant lawyer and Judge Atlee's friend.
  • Claudia Gates: Judge Atlee's used to be lover.
  • Dell: A waitress at the Coffee Shop
  • Mrs. Chaney: A woman who owns Chaney's Self-Storage.
  • Axel Sullivan: A divorce specialist who helped solve the divorce between Ray and Vicki.
  • Corey Crawford: A really good private investigator who used to be an ex-cop.
  • Chancellor Farr: The new judge of Clanton
  • Mr. Jason Piccolo: The vice president of Canyon Casinos
  • Alvin Barker: Head of security at Canyon Casinos.
  • Patton French: The new king of torts in the U.S. He is a very cunning and clever lawyer.
Show all 24 characters
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First Sentence edit see section history

It came by mail, regular postage, the old-fashioned way since the Judge was almost eighty and distrusted modern devices.

Table of Contents edit see section history

Chapters 1 - 39

Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 84 of 30 in Top selling 100 books 1998-2010 (Guardian). (authoritative list)

Preceded by Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and followed by The Lost Symbol.

This is book 1 of 10 in Publishers Weekly Bestselling Novels In 2002. (authoritative list)

Followed by Red Rabbit.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. John Grisham (Author)

Other Contributors:

  1. Michael Beck (Reader) - Reads unabridged audio cassette edition(Random House audio)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Doubleday
Country: United States
Publication Date: February 5, 2002
ISBN: 978-0385503822
Page Count: 384

Classification edit see section history

  • Library of Congress: PS3557.R5355 S86 2002b
  • Dewey: 818'.54

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
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