In My Mother's House

by Elizabeth Winthrop

Lydia Franklin, daughter of a prosperous New York banker, grows up in a house filled with shadows and secrets. By the time she marries George Webster and moves to Connecticut, she is a dutiful wife obsessed with forgetting her past...controlling her daughter Charlotte's life...and vanquishing her personal demons. But Lydia's deeply buried yesterdays may taint her daughter's chance of happiness, and destroy her beautiful, artistic granddaughter Molly with the legacy of a truth too shocking to ever tell. A riveting novel of mother and daughters torn apart by loss and twisted emotions, In My Mother's House sweeps from the brownstones of turn-of-the-century New York to the stately farmlands of Connecticut to explore a woman's shame, a family's deceit, and a final act of love... PRAISE FOR IN MY MOTHER'S “Accomplished… the portrait of Lydia is one of the novel’s triumphs.” - New York Times Book Review “A classic woman’s novel…Compassionate…absorbing.” - Newsday “An utterly absorbing… resounding novel… Skillful and precise psychological threadwork…Crystalline images and genuine warmth for her characters…Winthrop powerfully illuminates one of the darker corners of the human psyche.” - Publishers Weekly “Explores the fearful legacy of child abuse in the lives of three women…the author writes with the ease and narrative punch of a practiced storyteller.” - Kirkus Reviews “Written with sensitivity and insight.” - Washington Post

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction

556 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

ELIZABETH WINTHROP ALSOP (www.elizabethwinthropalsop.com), is the author of over sixty works of fiction for all ages, including ISLAND JUSTICE and IN MY MOTHER'S HOUSE, both available as e-books.

DAUGHTER OF SPIES: Wartime Secrets, Family Lies, her memoir about her parents' love affair during World War II and her own childhood in 1950s Washington as the daughter of a famous journalist, will be published October 25, 2022 by Regal House.

Her short story, The Golden Darters, was selected by Best American Short Stories by Robert Stone and was recently read on SELECTED SHORTS by the renowned actress, Ann Dowd. She is the author of the memoir piece, Don't Knock Unless You're Bleeding; Growing Up in Cold War Washington.The daughter of Stewart Alsop, the political journalist, she divides her time between New York City and the Berkshires.

Her historical novel, COUNTING ON GRACE was chosen as a Notable Book of the Year by the American Library Association, the National Council of Social Studies, the International Reading Association and the Children’s Book Council among others. The novel has also been nominated for state book awards in Vermont, Virginia, Kentucky, Kansas, Missouri,Indiana, Hawaii and Arizona.

THE CASTLE IN THE ATTIC and its sequel, THE BATTLE FOR THE CASTLE, were nominated for twenty-three state book awards and are considered children’s fantasy classics.

Her popular picture books include DUMPY LA RUE, SHOES,DOG SHOW, SQUASHED IN THE MIDDLE and most recently, THE FIRST CHRISTMAS STOCKING and THE BIGGEST PARADE. Two of her recent books for older children are THE RED-HOT RATTOONS, a comic fantasy novel and DEAR MR. PRESIDENT, Letters from a Milltown Girl, a work of historical fiction set in western Massachusetts.

For more information, www.elizabethwinthrop.com

Reviews

[Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Life is tough all around. A well written story of a family.

[Elaine Cougler · Rating 4 out of 5]

In My Mother's House by Elizabeth Winthrop. A story of moving intensity focusing around the circle of life and the damages done by incest, particularly as they apply to women. This is a very matriarchal slant in step with the times, and spanning three generations. A good read and a fast one. I look forward to reading Winthrop again.

[Ileen Gallegos · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was surprisingly very interesting and the plot kept me reading. The generation between the three women are very much something I can personally empathize with. It’s interesting the way the book ended. Secrets will probably be kept is what my guess is.

[Bamboozlepig · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh, it was interesting in the first half but the second half seemed to peter out. The plot lost steam and so did my interest. Mind you, it's not bad and it's actually a pretty decent generational saga, but Lydia's character is hard to like at times.

[Elizabeth Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Made me remember how much I enjoy epic multi-generational family novels of a certain very light flavor. But loses some serious points because the last third of the book was so predictable.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprising book that covered the lives of three generations of women and a bond between their lives. It is set in New England, spanning the family's history from the late 1800's until the 1970s. It is an absorbing story of a family secret which nearly destroyed their relationships but which was overcome by their strong family ties. I found it well written and captivating.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author went to my high school and so I read this book when it was newly released.

[JoAnne Halada · Rating 4 out of 5]

good reading study of a family so many untold secreats

[Lynn D'onofrio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love reading books that start in the 1800's. am loving this one.