Robert Joseph’s The Last Season is a story of love and war, faith and fear, and British tradition and the aristocracy. Born into wealth, Lady Mary Ashmore is accustomed to getting what she wants and when she wants it. The young and vivacious Mary has her eyes on Lord Andrew Buckford. The season of debutante balls is approaching. Everyone expects Andrew to be Mary’s escort for her coming out gala. Everyone except Andrew. Andrew has fallen for Mary’s German tutor, Ruth Herzog. Ruth is bright, intelligent, and also a Jewess. This love affair is unsuitable for the heir of Lammersly; therefore, Ruth is fired and sent back to Germany. Mary is delighted. Andrew, on the other hand, is determined to get Ruth back, no matter the consequences. Resolved to maintain tradition, the women prepare for the Season, but the men talk of Hitler and the inevitable war. Patriotism awakens. Lord Andrew joins the RAF. Dark clouds are gathering over the world, and this very well could be “The Last Season.”

The Last Season portrays the life of the English upper class at the dawn of World War II. Robert Joseph’s plot brings to life the atrocities of Hitler’s Third Reich as they collide with high society and the almost untouchable demeanor of British aristocracy. Society and customs are tested; young love is empowered, as the world is challenged by unfathomable hatred. Tradition and nobility are the backbone of British character. With this in mind, Joseph pens strong and tenacious characters. Coupling determination with wealth and prestige, Joseph allows his cast of characters to explode with passion. Nothing seems to slow them down in their pursuits. However, Mary, the female protagonist is conflicted. She struggles with doing what she desires and doing what is right. Young, spoiled and smitten, she lets her own self interest be her guide. Her male counterpart, Andrew, is loyal, serious and selfless. The personal tug-of-war between these two main characters is integral to the plot scheme. The characterization has both scope and depth. To give balance and friction to the protagonists, Joseph includes contrasting foil characters, Ruth and Nicholas, and the antagonistic behavior of Heinzi.

The narrative depicts family devotion, binding friendship, patriotism and unrequited love as the plot heightens with a harrowing escape. Then, at the apex, one pivotal and unexpected event changes its course, paving the way for its conclusion. The Last Season ends with a dance and a kiss, maintaining the theme: “Our traditions make us who we are.”

In The Last Season by Robert Joseph, young Lady Mary Ashmore comes face to face with both her own selfishness and her own selflessness. The daughter of a wealthy family, she prepares for what might well be, in light of Hitler’s growing war machine, the last season for young women to “come out” in London’s high society. Though Mary fancies Andrew Buckford, his interest is not in her. Rather, he has eyes for her German tutor and a Jewess, Fraulein Ruth Herzog. When Andrew’s and Mary’s mothers find the potential pairing problematic, Mary’s mother dismisses Ruth from her employ. Forced to return to Germany, Ruth lives in squalor in Berlin with her father, seeking to avoid capture. Fearing for Ruth’s life, Andrew twice offers Mary an opportunity to assist his beloved. As a consequence, Mary must determine which part of her is the stronger — the part that would sacrifice others for her dreams, or the part that would sacrifice her dreams for the sake of others.

Robert Joseph offers an interesting glimpse into London’s high society in The Last Season. With details abounding as to the clothing worn, the cars driven, and the entertainment sought, the world is believable and full. Add in the threat of a coming war, the terror felt by those the Nazis sought, and Nazi attacks on the Jews in Berlin, and the reader feels she’s witnessing events in real time. This is a story I would recommend in particular to young adults, as it will encourage each reader to rise to become their better self.