Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
An American woman and her son stumble upon the dark history of a rambling English manor house in this gripping novel that marks an exciting new departure for the New York Times bestselling author of The City of Light. When a close relative falls ill, Hannah Larson and her young son, Nicky, join him for the summer at Ashton Hall, an historic manor house outside Cambridge, England. A frustrated academic whose ambitions have been subsumed by the pressing needs of her beloved, neurodiverse child, Hannah longs to escape her life in New York City, where she recently stumbled upon a devastating lie at the heart of her marriage.
Hannah and Nicky settle happily into their new surroundings. But not long after their arrival, fearless, ever-curious Nicky, in a chilling encounter, finds the skeletal remains of a woman who had been walled into a forgotten part of the manor centuries earlier. Determined to figure out what led to her imprisonment and death, Hannah begins to recreate the Ashton Hall of the Elizabethan era in all its vivid color and conflict, through the surviving remnants of everyday life: old ledgers showing what the woman's household spent on everything from music to medicine; lists of books checked out of the library; and the troubling personal papers of the long-departed family. As the multilayered secrets of her own life begin to unravel, Hannah comes to realize that the restraints governing the lives of Ashton Hall's women before her were not so different from her own, and she confronts what mothers and daughters throughout history have had to do, often covertly, to secure their independence and protect their children.
In the tradition of The Weight of Ink and The Lost Apothecary, and rich with female passion, strength, and ferocity across the centuries, Ashton Hall is a novel that reveals how the most profound hauntings are within ourselves.
Synopsis
An American woman and her son stumble upon the dark history of a rambling English manor house in this "masterful, riveting, and atmospheric" (Alka Joshi, author of The Henna Artist) novel from New York Times bestselling author Lauren Befler. "With vibrant prose, Lauren Belfer shepherds us through a centuries-old mystery and into a modern-day introspection on motherhood, marriage, and love."--Georgia Hunter, New York Times bestselling author of We Were the Lucky Ones
When a close relative falls ill, Hannah Larson and her young son, Nicky, join him for the summer at Ashton Hall, a historic manor house outside Cambridge, England. A frustrated academic whose ambitions have been subsumed by the challenges of raising her beloved child, Hannah longs to escape her life in New York City, where her marriage has been upended by a recently discovered and devastating betrayal.
Soon after their arrival, ever-curious Nicky finds the skeletal remains of a woman walled into a forgotten part of the manor, and Hannah is pulled into an all-consuming quest for answers, Nicky close by her side. Working from clues in centuries-old ledgers showing what the woman's household spent on everything from music to medicine; lists of books checked out of the library; and the troubling personal papers of the long-departed family, Hannah begins to recreate the Ashton Hall of the Elizabethan era in all its color and conflict. As the multilayered secrets of her own life begin to unravel, Hannah comes to realize that Ashton Hall's women before her had lives not so different from her own, and she confronts what mothers throughout history have had to do to secure their independence and protect their children.
"Infused with the brooding, gothic atmosphere of Jane Eyre or Rebecca" (Melanie Benjamin, author of The Children's Blizzard) and rich with female passion, strength, and ferocity across the ages, Ashton Hall is a novel that reveals how the most profound hauntings are within ourselves.
Synopsis
An American woman and her son unearth the buried secrets and past lives of an English manor house in this masterful and riveting novel from New York Times bestselling author Lauren Belfer. "Infused with the brooding, gothic atmosphere of Jane Eyre or Rebecca . . . a novel that must be savored, one page at a time."--Melanie Benjamin, author of The Children's Blizzard
"How many lives can you imagine yourself living?"
Or so Hannah Larson wonders. When an uncle falls ill, Hannah and her young son, Nicky, decide to join him for the summer at Ashton Hall, a historic manor house outside Cambridge, England. Hannah gave up her academic career to raise her beloved child--Nicky is neurodivergent and experiences the world differently from others--and she's grateful to escape her life in New York City, where her marriage has been upended by a devastating betrayal.
Soon after their arrival, ever-curious Nicky finds the skeletal remains of a woman who had been walled into a forgotten part of the manor, and Hannah is pulled into an all-consuming quest for answers. Working from clues in centuries-old ledgers and the personal papers of the long-departed family, Hannah begins to recreate the Ashton Hall of the Elizabethan era in all its color and conflict. As the secrets of her own life begin to unravel, and the rewards and complications of being Nicky's mother come into focus, Hannah realizes that Ashton Hall's women had lives not so different from her own. She confronts what women throughout history have had to do to control their own destinies and protect their children.
Rich with passion, strength, and ferocity across the ages, Ashton Hall is a novel that reveals how the most profound hauntings are within ourselves.