Ashton Hall, Lauren Belfer
Ashton Hall, Lauren Belfer
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Ashton Hall

Author: Lauren Belfer

Narrator: Kristen Sieh, Jayne Entwistle

Unabridged: 12 hr 37 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/07/2022


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
 
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times

“How many lives can you imagine yourself living?”

So Hannah Larson wonders. When a close relative 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, who 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 discovers the skeletal remains of a woman in a forgotten, walled-off wing 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 re-create 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 before her 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.

About Lauren Belfer

Lauren Belfer’s novel A Fierce Radiance was named a Washington Post Best Novel; an NPR Best Mystery; and a New York Times Editors’ Choice. Her debut novel, City of Light, was a New York Times bestseller as well as a number one Book Sense pick; a New York Times Notable Book; a Library Journal Best Book; and a Main Selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club. She lives in New York City.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Kathy on April 27, 2022

Thanks to Random House for granting me the privilege to read advance copy of this book that will be released June 7, 2022. I highly recommend it to those who appreciate extensive library research and/or have an interest in Tudor era life. It is a brilliantly executed book that covers many areas of in......more

Goodreads review by Danielle on March 01, 2022

Hannah Larson and her young son, Nicky are living in New York City when a close relative from England, Christopher, unexpectedly falls ill. Hannah and Nicky quickly travel to Ashton Hall, the historic home where Christopher lives. As Nicky is exploring his new temporary home, he finds the skeletal r......more

Goodreads review by Desiree on January 07, 2023

Throwing in the towel at 16%. There's just way. Too. Much "tell rather than show". Long description of what rooms look like, to the point of explaining where doors are or on what side of a hall art hangs. Overwrought commentary on exactly what newly-introduced characters look like. Now I'm in a pass......more

Goodreads review by AndiReads on March 06, 2022

A VERY unique story - the title does not give it justice. To be honest, I was expecting a haunted manor with a little intrigue and small mystery. Instead I was treated to a tapestry of themes and lives and I was completely immersed in the world of Great Britain in the 1800's. Hannah and her neurodiver......more


Quotes

“Exquisite . . . The way the author has weaved several storylines together is brilliant.”Mystery and Suspense

“This book has Daphne-Du-Maurier-meets-Kate Morton-vibes and I was THERE FOR ALL OF IT. The setting, the skeleton, the mystery, the lovable characters ... What an addictive read!”—Julie Clark, New York Times bestselling author of The Lies I Tell and The Last Flight

“Belfer’s writing is gorgeous.”The Jewish Book Council

“Lauren Belfer’s Ashton Hall is masterful, riveting, and atmospheric historical fiction. It made me want to don a velvet cloak, brew a cup of tea, and settle in to watch Hannah and her ingenious son unravel the fascinating, dark, centuries-old secrets of a manor home.”—Alka Joshi, New York Times bestselling author of The Henna Artist

“In Ashton Hall, Lauren Belfer has treated us to a novel infused with the brooding gothic atmosphere of Jane Eyre or Rebecca. And like those classics, this is at its heart a story about a woman’s journey of self-discovery. How does a wife and mother reclaim her dreams when her world is turned upside down? In her quest to learn the identity of a skeleton entombed in the heart of a British manor house, Hannah Larson tries to piece together the puzzle that has become her own life. This is a novel that must be savored, one page at a time.”—Melanie Benjamin, New York Times bestselling author of The Children’s Blizzard

“Belfer’s latest is a brilliant, immersive story about one woman searching for answers after a terrible discovery from centuries earlier. The captivating threads of the plot—an English manor house with secret rooms and a dark past, a mother struggling with her atypical son—are rounded out by a lively cast of locals who had me laughing out loud.”—Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Magnolia Palace

“Belfer explores timeless ideas of family, sacrifice, and female resistance. . . . The labyrinthian portrait she paints of [Ashton Hall] successfully conveys mystery and adventure. . . . For lovers of libraries and Tudor history.”Library Journal

“A touching story about the themes that resonate through centuries.”Kirkus Reviews
 
“Belfer offers a nuanced exploration of the ways women’s lives are constricted. Anglophiles and Tudor history buffs will enjoy this immersive tale.”Publishers Weekly

“[Belfer’s] exquisitely illuminated story offers the vicarious indulgence of a stay at an English country house combined with an Elizabethan-era mystery and a meditation on women’s age-old struggles between independence and motherhood. . . . Belfer shows how history is a tangibly close presence.”Booklist