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A Private Affair
Paris, 1890. One city, two worlds—where a private affair becomes public knowledge.Sir Edward Hastings, an English aristocrat weary of duty and drowning in ennui, retreats to the glamour and shadows of Belle Époque Paris. There, beneath the gaslamps and golden salons, he encounters a woman who unsettles him more than he dares Louisa Avigny, a gifted seamstress with quiet strength, haunting beauty, and a past stitched with sorrow.
Louisa has known loss, solitude, and the hard edges of survival. Widowed and alone, she makes her living by the precision of her needle and the dignity of her silence—until a chance meeting on Pont Neuf leads to an invitation neither of them expected.
Drawn together by mutual need and the ache of loneliness, Edward and Louisa begin a private affair—one that defies the rigid lines of class, country, and custom. As the city stirs around them with art, desire, and revolution, their connection deepens into something that may be love…or may be too dangerous to last.
From the elegant salons of the Hôtel Scribe to the cramped attic workrooms of Rue de la Paix, A Private Affair is a story of forbidden attraction, personal transformation, and the choices that shape a lifetime. Richly atmospheric and emotionally resonant, this historical novel explores what happens when a man who has everything meets a woman who refuses to be bought—and both are changed forever.
Louisa has known loss, solitude, and the hard edges of survival. Widowed and alone, she makes her living by the precision of her needle and the dignity of her silence—until a chance meeting on Pont Neuf leads to an invitation neither of them expected.
Drawn together by mutual need and the ache of loneliness, Edward and Louisa begin a private affair—one that defies the rigid lines of class, country, and custom. As the city stirs around them with art, desire, and revolution, their connection deepens into something that may be love…or may be too dangerous to last.
From the elegant salons of the Hôtel Scribe to the cramped attic workrooms of Rue de la Paix, A Private Affair is a story of forbidden attraction, personal transformation, and the choices that shape a lifetime. Richly atmospheric and emotionally resonant, this historical novel explores what happens when a man who has everything meets a woman who refuses to be bought—and both are changed forever.
348 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 20, 2025
5 people are currently reading
About the author
Helen Ashford
41 books2 followersHelen Ashford is an avid amateur historian and natural-born storyteller with a passion for exploring the quiet strength of ordinary people. Her love of history inspires stories where personal resilience meets sweeping social change. She writes historical fiction, romances and fantasies that shine a light on the challenges—and triumphs—of characters navigating life, love, and legacy in times past.
The Coldwater Trilogy, a heartfelt exploration of life on the 19th-century American frontier, is her debut series. From the embers of the Civil War to the dawn of a new century, follows the lives of Alice Payne and Will Mertens—two ordinary people caught in extraordinary times. Set in southeastern Kansas, this powerful historical saga explores the making—and remaking—of a town through the eyes of those brave enough to challenge its silence.
The Witch of Biddle Creek is her latest series set in the shadowed hollows of the 1920s Appalachian Mountains, where the land remembers—and so does the witch who walks it. Rooted in the ancient rhythms of nature and the unraveling traditions of a postwar world, The Witch of Biddle Creek is a deeply atmospheric series that blends historical fiction with supernatural mystery and Appalachian folklore. Each volume follows Meg Taylor, a former battlefield nurse who inherits more than just her grandmother’s cabin—she inherits a legacy.
The Coldwater Trilogy, a heartfelt exploration of life on the 19th-century American frontier, is her debut series. From the embers of the Civil War to the dawn of a new century, follows the lives of Alice Payne and Will Mertens—two ordinary people caught in extraordinary times. Set in southeastern Kansas, this powerful historical saga explores the making—and remaking—of a town through the eyes of those brave enough to challenge its silence.
The Witch of Biddle Creek is her latest series set in the shadowed hollows of the 1920s Appalachian Mountains, where the land remembers—and so does the witch who walks it. Rooted in the ancient rhythms of nature and the unraveling traditions of a postwar world, The Witch of Biddle Creek is a deeply atmospheric series that blends historical fiction with supernatural mystery and Appalachian folklore. Each volume follows Meg Taylor, a former battlefield nurse who inherits more than just her grandmother’s cabin—she inherits a legacy.
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February 6, 2026
A Private Affair is a richly atmospheric and emotionally compelling historical romance set in the glow and shadows of Belle Époque Paris. Helen Ashford beautifully captures the tension between class, desire, and duty through Edward and Louisa’s forbidden connection. Louisa is a quietly powerful heroine, and her relationship with Edward feels intimate, tender, and deeply human. Elegant, poignant, and absorbing, this novel is a haunting story of love that dares to cross every line.
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