Three Families

by VL McBeath

London 1641: Mass protests are gaining traction across the City of London as King Charles I insists on pushing forward with reforms to the Church initiated by his recently imprisoned Archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud.

Thomas Juxon, a Merchant Taylor and member of a well-respected City family, is as angry as the next man about the addition of Papist ornaments to the churches … but when he becomes involved in one of the protests it doesn’t go unnoticed. Not least by his uncle, the Bishop of London.

Seeking to calm tensions, Dame Esther Price, the family matriarch, summons members from all branches of the family to an afternoon junket. They need reminding that standards are to be maintained … and that the king needs their support.

Although many of the guests agree with her, there are others who support Parliament’s cause and Thomas, for one, refuses to be swayed.

Thomas’s sister, Mistress Sarah Wagstaffe, is also at the junket. More interested in studying the decor of Dame Esther’s mansion than she is in politics, she finds herself sitting with Mistress Helen Juxon, the young wife of her uncle. As they talk, she learns that Helen’s relationship with Dame Esther is not all it seems.

When Thomas hears the news, he becomes intrigued. Who is this woman? And how did she end up marrying into the family?

With a sense of curiosity, he starts to ask questions, but as details are revealed, he realises that Mistress Helen's arrival into the family is more complicated than any of them realise.

As tensions in the City continue to build, Thomas seeks to unravel the threads of deception that brought Helen to London. Can he uncover the truth? And if he does, what does he do with it?


Three Families is the first book in The Merchants of London series. The storyline continues into book 2 and beyond…

Genres: Historical Fiction

440 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 17, 2026

Reviews

[Julia]

Three Families is a quietly unfolding, character-driven saga set in London in 1641, a period when political and religious tensions were beginning to permeate every aspect of society. Rather than rushing towards the approaching crisis, V. L. McBeath takes time to establish her characters, their relationships and the complex web of loyalties that binds the three families together. The result is an atmospheric portrait of a society standing on the threshold of profound change.

It was the mystery surrounding Helen that drew me most deeply into the novel. There is something elusive about her past, and Thomas's determination to uncover the truth provides the narrative with its investigative thread. It is this investigation that gives the story much of its depth and momentum, gradually revealing the tensions and secrets beneath the seemingly ordered world of the families. As the personal mystery develops against the backdrop of the political turmoil of 1641, the two strands complement one another particularly well.

For that reason, I found the conclusion somewhat disappointing. Having invested so much in Helen's story and in Thomas's investigation, I was left wanting a more fully satisfying resolution to the questions that had driven the narrative. The ending felt rather less conclusive than the careful build-up had led me to expect - it left me feeling a little cheated.

Nevertheless, Three Families is an absorbing and atmospheric historical saga. Its greatest strengths lie in its carefully developed characters, intricate relationships and evocative portrayal of London on the eve of upheaval. McBeath succeeds in creating a world in which the gathering political storm is felt not simply through historical events, but through the lives, loyalties and secrets of the people caught within it -

[Avis Witter]

An interesting insight into the workings of three branches of the same family, their relationships with each other and how they react to the turbulent political changes unfolding in 1641. King Charles I is finding that loyalty to him is waning and the family are torn in their support for him or the new Puritan ideas.

I found the family trees illustrated very helpful in showing each characters connection in the different branches. They helped as you read and understood the relationships and intrigue unfolding. The mystery of Helen and her past brings another facet to the story. Exactly how she came to marry into the family is posing questions for some family members who are determined to find answers.

The rise of Puritanism and the fall of the monarchy were disturbing times to live through and I think that the author has made a good job of imagining the conversations, actions and reactions within a family of merchants where livelihoods could be lost with a stroke of a pen.

I am looking forward to reading the next in series and finding answers to questions and situations which have been left cleverly unresolved so the reader is hooked. Hooked because you are not buried in political facts and features but want to know more about the family situations, how they cope and what happens next.

Thanks to the author for my ARC. It was well worth waiting for.

[Sally]

When V. L. McBeath discovered a distant connection between herself and some of the known players in the run-up to the English Civil War, she used it as inspiration for Three Families, the first book in The Merchants of London series.

The story introduces the extended Juxon family, whose bonds are beginning to fray as the relationship between King Charles I and Parliament grows increasingly fractured. Who will fall into which camp? Who might secretly be working for the other side?

Thank goodness for the family trees at the beginning of the book! There are a lot of characters to keep track of, and I referred to the charts frequently. I enjoyed how varied the characters were, from a widow who comes across as both an old crone and a gossip, but who is also fiercely independent, to a young girl who doesn’t appear to share blood ties with either of her parents.

The possible murder mystery caught my attention more than the politics. I also appreciated the short chapters, which make this an ideal book to pick up when you only have a few minutes to spare.

Readers who enjoy family sagas, political intrigue, and historical London may want to give Three Families a try.

I received a complimentary electronic copy through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[Cheryl]

I thoroughly enjoyed this first part of the series. In fact, I was sorry when it ended and wished the next instalment was ready to read. There are a number of different characters at first, but soon I found I was able to know the relationships. Thomas Juxon is one of the main characters, he is young man around 27 years old and is very involved with the politics of the day. He is also curious on nature and this leads him to try to solve a mystery concerning Helen, the 2nd wife of a relation. I enjoyed the way that the actual events of the time were woven into the fiction part and the actions of the characters. I knew a little about this period but I found it interesting to see how the tradesmen were affected by the actions of the king and parliament. Religion also played a large part in people’s lives and how women were regarded also played a part. I received a copy and have voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Aileen (Ailz) Grist]

To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure about this series. The book started as King versus Parliament and I thought that the family being split in who thy folowed was going to be the story, but then along comes Mistress Helen who had been married to a Montagu who had died in a strange 'accident' and the book turned into two of her cousins by marriage looking into his death.

I'm looking forward to book number 2 of the trilogy to see where we're going. As this one started in 1641 I realised a little way in that it wasn't time for the civil war, perhaps that will come later.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher I read a free, advance review copy of the book. This review is voluntary, honest and my own opinion.

[Olga]

I really like that you always learn new things from all the books published by Ms. McBeath. In this new saga, the hero is Thomas, a man of honor who stands by his principles no matter what others say or do. There are other characthers that are very ambitious and don't care who they affect with their misconduct. And there's also the scandalmonger, that you feel you hate her for her stupidity. All the characthers are very reliable.