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Ashton Hall
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.
“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.
“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.
416 pages, Hardcover
First published June 7, 2022
421 people are currently reading
27685 people want to read
About the author
Lauren Belfer
9 books480 followersLauren Belfer’s most recent novel is ASHTON HALL. Booklist called it "exquisitely illuminated." Fiona Davis said ASHTON HALL is “a brilliant, immersive story rich with intrigue and historical detail, and a stunning achievement.”
Lauren grew up in Buffalo, New York, and decided to become a writer when she was six years old. By the time she was in high school, her literary work was receiving rejection letters from all the best publications. Some of these letters included the initials of the person doing the rejecting, which she interpreted as encouragement. After graduating from Swarthmore College with a B.A. in Medieval Studies and Art History, she worked as a file clerk at an art gallery, a paralegal at a law firm, an assistant photo editor at a newspaper, a fact checker at magazines, and as a researcher and associate producer on documentary films. All the while, she was getting up early in the morning to write fiction. Her first published short story was rejected 42 times before it found an editor who loved it (this was before the days of self-publishing). Her second published story was rejected only 27 times.
Lauren’s debut novel, CITY OF LIGHT, was a New York Times bestseller, as well as a New York Times Notable Book.
Her second novel, A FIERCE RADIANCE, was named a Washington Post Best Novel, an NPR Best Mystery, and a New York Times Editors’ Choice. It was included in the Goodreads posting, "20 Moments that Changed History: A Reading List."
In a four-star review, USA Today said that Lauren's third novel, AND AFTER THE FIRE, “swells with life’s great themes — love and death, family and faith — and the insistent, dark music of loss.” AND AFTER THE FIRE received the inaugural Book Club Award of the National Jewish Book Awards.
Lauren has an M.F.A. from Columbia University, and she lives in New York City.
To learn more about Lauren and her work, please visit her website and follow her on social media:
LaurenBelfer.com
Facebook.com/AuthorLaurenBelfer
Twitter: @LaurenBelfer
Instagram: @LaurenBelfer1
Lauren grew up in Buffalo, New York, and decided to become a writer when she was six years old. By the time she was in high school, her literary work was receiving rejection letters from all the best publications. Some of these letters included the initials of the person doing the rejecting, which she interpreted as encouragement. After graduating from Swarthmore College with a B.A. in Medieval Studies and Art History, she worked as a file clerk at an art gallery, a paralegal at a law firm, an assistant photo editor at a newspaper, a fact checker at magazines, and as a researcher and associate producer on documentary films. All the while, she was getting up early in the morning to write fiction. Her first published short story was rejected 42 times before it found an editor who loved it (this was before the days of self-publishing). Her second published story was rejected only 27 times.
Lauren’s debut novel, CITY OF LIGHT, was a New York Times bestseller, as well as a New York Times Notable Book.
Her second novel, A FIERCE RADIANCE, was named a Washington Post Best Novel, an NPR Best Mystery, and a New York Times Editors’ Choice. It was included in the Goodreads posting, "20 Moments that Changed History: A Reading List."
In a four-star review, USA Today said that Lauren's third novel, AND AFTER THE FIRE, “swells with life’s great themes — love and death, family and faith — and the insistent, dark music of loss.” AND AFTER THE FIRE received the inaugural Book Club Award of the National Jewish Book Awards.
Lauren has an M.F.A. from Columbia University, and she lives in New York City.
To learn more about Lauren and her work, please visit her website and follow her on social media:
LaurenBelfer.com
Facebook.com/AuthorLaurenBelfer
Twitter: @LaurenBelfer
Instagram: @LaurenBelfer1
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 568 reviews
May 2, 2022
I was excited to receive this ARC, but had no idea how lucky I was until I read it!!!! I'm a historian by nature and love to read a book that an author has researched endlessly to pull together another top ten for 2022! Castles and manors are fascinating and I thought this would be another haunting, but instead it took me through history... flawlessly... even when most of it is countered with fictional characters. For those of you who are not interested in history, this is so much more than that. With a Gothic atmospheric mystery in a countryside ancient manor outside of Cambridge, England, brings elements of complicated family histories, dark secrets and crevices.
"How many lives can you imagine yourself living?"
Americans Hannah and her son Nicky are visiting for the summer her terminally ill Uncle Christopher at Ashton Hall in Britain. The daily challenges of Nicky's neurodiversity can sometimes be volatile. On top of that, she has recently observed her husband's betrayal of their vows. The change could do them good in the beautiful countryside. While staying at the manor, Nicky feels comfortable exploring the castle on his own. He awakens his mother with a startling find of a female skeleton. A crumbling hidden passageway gave way to a walled up room in a forgotten part of the house which became her tomb.
The skeletal remains date back to the 1550's Tudor period. Why would she be sealed inside this room? A great look into the historians presence in gathering evidence from account ledgers, medieval books in England, archaeology and forensics. The time period clued us in on a plague that wiped out the rural villages. The library registry shared what books were checked out during that time which gave an interesting look at the characters from the past. As many books have been lost due to the Religious conflicts between Protestants and Catholics, some were hidden away in secret passages and spaces to prevent the destruction of them, but a variety of book collections were left uncatalogued.
When the remains of Isabella Creshan come to life slowly, this becomes an unforgettable book clinging like a Jane Eyre with its gloomy and lonely narrative just hinting at light anticipation. With so many avenues this book could have gone in, it left me breathless and an unexpected ending that is nothing short of amazing!
I enjoyed reading about the unique fragrant gardens, bubbling brooks, the hidden passages, the delicious bakeries and the humorous comparisons between the British and English. The concealment of so much history left to explore inside those old libraries. An interesting touch was added of Hannah's own family history and their loss and experiences during the Holocaust in the 1940's. This is more about the present times, but the discovery her son makes shed light onto Hannah's own decisions and what is best for them. I found myself totally immersed and identifying with each character and forgetting about my own daily identity. This will make a lasting impression on me and how history is forever evolving.
Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine books for this title in exchange for my honest review.
"How many lives can you imagine yourself living?"
Americans Hannah and her son Nicky are visiting for the summer her terminally ill Uncle Christopher at Ashton Hall in Britain. The daily challenges of Nicky's neurodiversity can sometimes be volatile. On top of that, she has recently observed her husband's betrayal of their vows. The change could do them good in the beautiful countryside. While staying at the manor, Nicky feels comfortable exploring the castle on his own. He awakens his mother with a startling find of a female skeleton. A crumbling hidden passageway gave way to a walled up room in a forgotten part of the house which became her tomb.
The skeletal remains date back to the 1550's Tudor period. Why would she be sealed inside this room? A great look into the historians presence in gathering evidence from account ledgers, medieval books in England, archaeology and forensics. The time period clued us in on a plague that wiped out the rural villages. The library registry shared what books were checked out during that time which gave an interesting look at the characters from the past. As many books have been lost due to the Religious conflicts between Protestants and Catholics, some were hidden away in secret passages and spaces to prevent the destruction of them, but a variety of book collections were left uncatalogued.
When the remains of Isabella Creshan come to life slowly, this becomes an unforgettable book clinging like a Jane Eyre with its gloomy and lonely narrative just hinting at light anticipation. With so many avenues this book could have gone in, it left me breathless and an unexpected ending that is nothing short of amazing!
I enjoyed reading about the unique fragrant gardens, bubbling brooks, the hidden passages, the delicious bakeries and the humorous comparisons between the British and English. The concealment of so much history left to explore inside those old libraries. An interesting touch was added of Hannah's own family history and their loss and experiences during the Holocaust in the 1940's. This is more about the present times, but the discovery her son makes shed light onto Hannah's own decisions and what is best for them. I found myself totally immersed and identifying with each character and forgetting about my own daily identity. This will make a lasting impression on me and how history is forever evolving.
Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine books for this title in exchange for my honest review.
June 16, 2022
4+ I've been in a bit of a fictional reading slump, starting and stopping many different books that I just couldn't seem to get into. Until this one, just pulled me in and didn't let go. From it's beautiful cover it exemplifies everything I love in a historical while also embracing modern day challenges. Another plus for me was that this is a historical going back through centuries to the time of Henry VIIIth, but it is a linear novel, the going back is done through research.
Hannah arrives at Ashton Hall, a very old estate near Cambridge, whose trust wants people to actually live there, as well as giving tours. She has come to see an elderly uncle who was very close to her but may not live much longer, due to illness. With her comes her nine year old son Nicky, a neuro diverse child, extremely bright but prone to fits of rage. Parts of the hall has been blocked off, deserted for centuries, but this is seen as a challenge to Nicky who decides to investigate these areas. He finds a body, one that turns out to be that of a young woman who seems to have been, for centuries, interred inside this room. And so the investigation begins, who was she, why was she seemingly imprisoned in this room?
Looking through a huge amount of estate records, estate book lending records, the life of this time period, those who had made Ashton Hall their home and the mystery of this woman are meticulously investigated. Present day challenges of Hannah and Nicky make the point that the limited choices of women bear a commonality to the past.
A slow moving, well researched book. One I found enthralling.
Hannah arrives at Ashton Hall, a very old estate near Cambridge, whose trust wants people to actually live there, as well as giving tours. She has come to see an elderly uncle who was very close to her but may not live much longer, due to illness. With her comes her nine year old son Nicky, a neuro diverse child, extremely bright but prone to fits of rage. Parts of the hall has been blocked off, deserted for centuries, but this is seen as a challenge to Nicky who decides to investigate these areas. He finds a body, one that turns out to be that of a young woman who seems to have been, for centuries, interred inside this room. And so the investigation begins, who was she, why was she seemingly imprisoned in this room?
Looking through a huge amount of estate records, estate book lending records, the life of this time period, those who had made Ashton Hall their home and the mystery of this woman are meticulously investigated. Present day challenges of Hannah and Nicky make the point that the limited choices of women bear a commonality to the past.
A slow moving, well researched book. One I found enthralling.
June 17, 2022
Hannah and her young son Nicky are invited to visit Hannah’s uncle who is Ill. Hannah has just discovered that her husband as been unfaithful to her.
A perfect escape, Ashton Hall is a huge manor house on an estate near Cambridge, England.
Ashton Hall was filled with secret doors and passage ways. Curious nine year old Nicky discovered a skeleton in a forgotten part of the manor.
Police use present day investigation to solve the identity of the skeleton.
It is determined that the skeleton is a female and died in the 16th century.
The skeleton was locked in the room never to escape. But why?
Hannah delves into old books and ledgers to find out who this skeleton could be. Who lived in this manor house at the time?
This was book was not only a mystery but a history lesson about life during the Tudor reign. It is slow at times but beautifully written. It is very well researched with information for further reading at the back of the book.
As secrets are revealed Hannah finds that the women of the 16th century were not much different than today. Surprise ending.
A perfect escape, Ashton Hall is a huge manor house on an estate near Cambridge, England.
Ashton Hall was filled with secret doors and passage ways. Curious nine year old Nicky discovered a skeleton in a forgotten part of the manor.
Police use present day investigation to solve the identity of the skeleton.
It is determined that the skeleton is a female and died in the 16th century.
The skeleton was locked in the room never to escape. But why?
Hannah delves into old books and ledgers to find out who this skeleton could be. Who lived in this manor house at the time?
This was book was not only a mystery but a history lesson about life during the Tudor reign. It is slow at times but beautifully written. It is very well researched with information for further reading at the back of the book.
As secrets are revealed Hannah finds that the women of the 16th century were not much different than today. Surprise ending.
May 18, 2022
Another addition to my want-to-love-but-just-didn't list. I think my disappointment stemmed from the fact that this book is tagged as a "gothic mystery" but it really is not much of a mystery at all.
Hannah Larson and her highly intelligent but socially challenged, 9-year-old son, Nicky, have come to Ashton Hall, a medieval manor house in England, for the summer to take care of Christopher, Nicky's uncle. While exploring the house, Hannah is shocked when Nicky, in his early morning explorations, discovers the remains of a skeleton in an undiscovered walled-in room. Hannah, while still reeling from issues in her personal life, throws herself into researching the mystery of who this woman, Isabelle, was, and how she ended up entombed in a hidden passage of Ashton Hall.
This is one of those book that progresses at a snail's place, without any major events to keep it interesting. The secret passages in part of the house undiscovered since the 1500's but a 9-year-old found them in one search was a little unbelievable to me. Also, maybe some of it was that I didn't love Hannah's character either. I found her a bit flat in that she is self-absorbed and just not overly sympathetic. She is a woman conflicted on many fronts: a secret exposed in her marriage, managing her son's explosive behavior, and dealing with the impending death of her uncle. What I really didn't like though was the situation with Hannah and her husband. For much of the book, I thought Belfer was sending mixed signals. While I firmly believe that love is love, I also believe that cheating is cheating, but the notion that perhaps cheating is more "okay" if you still love your partner and you're just cheating with someone of the same sex, is confusing to me. In the end, I thought Belfer brought it all full circle, but for much of the book, I was put out by the prevailing theme.
I did enjoy the way Hannah and Isabelle's stories were interwoven. The more Hannah learns about Isabelle's secrets, the more parallels there are with her own life, but there really is no great mystery to the whole thing. There is no dual timeline between the past and present, as Isabelle's past is revealed through documents and papers found in the room with her body, and while it worked well in revealing the backstory, it was also a bit long-winded and became bogged down at times.
Overall, I do think Belfer has a beautiful writing style, and I would absolutely be open to reading more of her books, but this one was a 3-star read for me.
Hannah Larson and her highly intelligent but socially challenged, 9-year-old son, Nicky, have come to Ashton Hall, a medieval manor house in England, for the summer to take care of Christopher, Nicky's uncle. While exploring the house, Hannah is shocked when Nicky, in his early morning explorations, discovers the remains of a skeleton in an undiscovered walled-in room. Hannah, while still reeling from issues in her personal life, throws herself into researching the mystery of who this woman, Isabelle, was, and how she ended up entombed in a hidden passage of Ashton Hall.
This is one of those book that progresses at a snail's place, without any major events to keep it interesting. The secret passages in part of the house undiscovered since the 1500's but a 9-year-old found them in one search was a little unbelievable to me. Also, maybe some of it was that I didn't love Hannah's character either. I found her a bit flat in that she is self-absorbed and just not overly sympathetic. She is a woman conflicted on many fronts: a secret exposed in her marriage, managing her son's explosive behavior, and dealing with the impending death of her uncle. What I really didn't like though was the situation with Hannah and her husband. For much of the book, I thought Belfer was sending mixed signals. While I firmly believe that love is love, I also believe that cheating is cheating, but the notion that perhaps cheating is more "okay" if you still love your partner and you're just cheating with someone of the same sex, is confusing to me. In the end, I thought Belfer brought it all full circle, but for much of the book, I was put out by the prevailing theme.
I did enjoy the way Hannah and Isabelle's stories were interwoven. The more Hannah learns about Isabelle's secrets, the more parallels there are with her own life, but there really is no great mystery to the whole thing. There is no dual timeline between the past and present, as Isabelle's past is revealed through documents and papers found in the room with her body, and while it worked well in revealing the backstory, it was also a bit long-winded and became bogged down at times.
Overall, I do think Belfer has a beautiful writing style, and I would absolutely be open to reading more of her books, but this one was a 3-star read for me.
April 30, 2022
I absolutely hate when books are marketed as something they are not. Readers will be annoyed and books will not find their appropriate audiences. This book is marketed as a gothic mystery but it is anything but. I was very concerned and annoyed when the book began with an excited note from an editor talking about this book and mentioning sexual identity which is obviously not in the description. The main character Hannah spends much of the beginning of this novel talking about her difficult son and lamenting being tied to her husband for her financial dependence after she failed to finish her almost completed dissertation. Her laments continue after we find out she saw her husband being unfaithful and when she finally confronts him we find out it’s with a man. The husband is absolutely unrepentant about it and refuses to stop. This is painted as how dare she deny who he is because apparently infidelity is fine if it validates who a person is or something. This character was not impressive before this and her being walked all over certainly did not help.
I was mildly interested in the actual mystery but it’s more of a side note than any main plot point and I had no interest in continuing with this character so I did not finish this book after about a third of it and honestly wish I’d never started it. Again there could be women struggling with difficult children who might be interested in Hannah’s story if they had been honest in the description. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
I was mildly interested in the actual mystery but it’s more of a side note than any main plot point and I had no interest in continuing with this character so I did not finish this book after about a third of it and honestly wish I’d never started it. Again there could be women struggling with difficult children who might be interested in Hannah’s story if they had been honest in the description. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
May 4, 2022
The publicity material for Ashton Hall refers to it as "atmospheric"—and it certainly is that. I wasn't sure what I was expecting when I picked it up. I was thinking, maybe a mystery novel? maybe horror? But it really wasn't either of these. There's a mystery, but it's set far back in the past with the real action of the novel occuring in the present day. And while that mystery from the past is certainly unsettling, it's not the kind of creep-fest offered by so many horror novels. Instead, Ashton Hall is an exploration of the vulnerability of women in the present day, reminding readers that the past isn't necessarily as past as we'd like to think.
Hannah and her son Nicky have traveled from New York to Cambridge, England, to help care for her adopted uncle who is dying of cancer. He rents an apartment in a historic manor house that uses such units to help balance the books. Besides the handful of private apartments in Ashton Hall, parts of the hall are open to the public, and the grounds include a tea shop and used book store. Parts of the hall haven't been explored in decades—or longer—and crumble away as those running the property focus on limiting the layoffs and losses that always seem to be hovering on the horizon.
Immediately after Hannah and Nicky arrive, her uncle announces that he is going to New York for experimental treatment, but he wants them to follow through on their plan of spending the summer at Ashton Hall. And as Hannah and Nicky are settling, Nicky—who is not particularly good at following rules—sets out to explore explore some of the long-abandoned areas of the house and discovers the body of a woman sealed inside a small room that has been bricked up for who-know-how-many years.
Hannah finds unsettling echoes of her own life in the life she imagines for this woman. The woman in the bricked-up room was clearly educated, not necessarily a positive during the Elizabethan era during which she probably lived. Hannah left graduate study when she'd nearly completed her doctoral dissertation after Nicky's birth as it became clear that he would need her full-time care due to undiagnosed difficulties connected to some sort of neuroatypicality. While in Cambridge, Hannah's hoping to finish that dissertation a decade after she abandoned it. She's also trying figure out how she feels about her marriage having discovered that her husband has had a long-term sexual relationship with a male friend.
At times, the present-day events felt a bit like a teen "problem novel," but the problems of problem novels are generally quite real. One simultaneously feels for Hannah and also observes how conveniently germane her challenges are in terms of the novel's narrative arc. But the implied comparisons aren't unreasonable. As Hannah considers divorce, she faces contradictory sorts of condemnations. Her husband is a successful lawyer; she's done nothing—except for spending a decade raising a difficult, sometimes violent son. And given how difficult the boy is, her devotion to him can be depicted as an forgivable failure on her part.
Ashton Hall was deeply engaging, despite the ways in which I felt as if I were being nudged none-too-subtly in one direction or another. I finished its 400+ pages in two days—two weekdays when I was simultaneously being a dutiful cog in the capitalist system, working full days, attempting to keep up with things like laundry and cooking, and squeezing the novel in during early mornings and late evenings.
Ashton Hall is a genuinely thought-provoking read, one that attempts to pull together multiple threads of the restraints that have been placed on women's lives for centuries.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.
Hannah and her son Nicky have traveled from New York to Cambridge, England, to help care for her adopted uncle who is dying of cancer. He rents an apartment in a historic manor house that uses such units to help balance the books. Besides the handful of private apartments in Ashton Hall, parts of the hall are open to the public, and the grounds include a tea shop and used book store. Parts of the hall haven't been explored in decades—or longer—and crumble away as those running the property focus on limiting the layoffs and losses that always seem to be hovering on the horizon.
Immediately after Hannah and Nicky arrive, her uncle announces that he is going to New York for experimental treatment, but he wants them to follow through on their plan of spending the summer at Ashton Hall. And as Hannah and Nicky are settling, Nicky—who is not particularly good at following rules—sets out to explore explore some of the long-abandoned areas of the house and discovers the body of a woman sealed inside a small room that has been bricked up for who-know-how-many years.
Hannah finds unsettling echoes of her own life in the life she imagines for this woman. The woman in the bricked-up room was clearly educated, not necessarily a positive during the Elizabethan era during which she probably lived. Hannah left graduate study when she'd nearly completed her doctoral dissertation after Nicky's birth as it became clear that he would need her full-time care due to undiagnosed difficulties connected to some sort of neuroatypicality. While in Cambridge, Hannah's hoping to finish that dissertation a decade after she abandoned it. She's also trying figure out how she feels about her marriage having discovered that her husband has had a long-term sexual relationship with a male friend.
At times, the present-day events felt a bit like a teen "problem novel," but the problems of problem novels are generally quite real. One simultaneously feels for Hannah and also observes how conveniently germane her challenges are in terms of the novel's narrative arc. But the implied comparisons aren't unreasonable. As Hannah considers divorce, she faces contradictory sorts of condemnations. Her husband is a successful lawyer; she's done nothing—except for spending a decade raising a difficult, sometimes violent son. And given how difficult the boy is, her devotion to him can be depicted as an forgivable failure on her part.
Ashton Hall was deeply engaging, despite the ways in which I felt as if I were being nudged none-too-subtly in one direction or another. I finished its 400+ pages in two days—two weekdays when I was simultaneously being a dutiful cog in the capitalist system, working full days, attempting to keep up with things like laundry and cooking, and squeezing the novel in during early mornings and late evenings.
Ashton Hall is a genuinely thought-provoking read, one that attempts to pull together multiple threads of the restraints that have been placed on women's lives for centuries.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.
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 interest and is truly hard to put down. Research in Cambridge on the part of a young American woman is the window to discovery of a hidden room in an old "pile" containing remains of a Tudor era female. The American has come to stay with a very close elderly "family friend" along with her special needs son. The main focus is spending time studying manuscripts and old records, all of which are intriguing as they slowly begin to shed light on the truth of the life of a young woman who lived in that house.
The young American woman's life has many personal challenges as we follow her path. Captivating and moving! A wonderful book.
It is a brilliantly executed book that covers many areas of interest and is truly hard to put down. Research in Cambridge on the part of a young American woman is the window to discovery of a hidden room in an old "pile" containing remains of a Tudor era female. The American has come to stay with a very close elderly "family friend" along with her special needs son. The main focus is spending time studying manuscripts and old records, all of which are intriguing as they slowly begin to shed light on the truth of the life of a young woman who lived in that house.
The young American woman's life has many personal challenges as we follow her path. Captivating and moving! A wonderful book.
March 1, 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 remains of a woman who was hidden in the walls of the manor. When they find out that the remains is actually centuries old, Hannah starts some home detective work to try to figure out who she was, and what happened to her. Along the way, much of the rich history of the manor is uncovered!
What a great spin on a Historical Fiction book! I really enjoyed this one, it had the most unique plot. Lauren Belfer is an amazing writer and her extensive research preparing for this book is apparent on every page. The basic premise of an old creepy manor with a sorted past was a winner for me! I will be looking forward to Laren Belfer’s next book!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.
This review will be posted to my Instagram Blog (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.
What a great spin on a Historical Fiction book! I really enjoyed this one, it had the most unique plot. Lauren Belfer is an amazing writer and her extensive research preparing for this book is apparent on every page. The basic premise of an old creepy manor with a sorted past was a winner for me! I will be looking forward to Laren Belfer’s next book!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.
This review will be posted to my Instagram Blog (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.
January 8, 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 passage of a lengthy detail of the character's backstory. I need to feel why these things are important, or have some emotional impact. Why should I care about these things? Book needs a hood exit to move descriptions from "lists" to mood.
Awarding two stars because the Author's note at the end was fascinating, and amusing as well.
Awarding two stars because the Author's note at the end was fascinating, and amusing as well.
August 2, 2022
Hannah and her son Nicky arrive in Cambridge for the summer to help an ailing relative but things change when Nicky accidentally finds a skeleton in a walled up room from the Elizabethan era. This is contemporary fiction with a historical mystery, except the mystery doesn’t drive the plot. At all. It’s much more languorously paced than I would have guessed based on the synopsis, and at times, the characters seem to entirely forget about the mystery.
There’s a lot of time spent going through records and reviewing materials uncovered in the secret rooms in Ashton Hall. Research can be drudgery and there’s a fine line between presenting the reality of uncovering the past and not boring readers in the process. I didn’t need to know every book checked out on the library register or all the household purchases but it did help establish Hannah’s work process and show that figuring out what happened to Isabella was probably not going to be flashy. I enjoyed learning more about the late 1500s while Isabella was alive and how they ultimately learned the truth. It was also interesting how much projection was involved with each character’s theory about what happened to Isabella. Projection turned out to be a pretty big theme in this whole story, with everyone putting forth their biases about whatever Hannah faces.
In addition to the mystery, Hannah is grappling with her cousin Christopher’s decline from cancer, the recent knowledge that her husband Kevin is cheating on her, and her son’s issues. The book is much more focused on these aspects of her life. I often felt disconnected from Hannah. She was wishy-washy, letting life happen to her and not seeming to take much ownership of her choices. Now maybe this was just due to exhaustion with managing Nicky’s moods and not having any idea about what to do with Kevin. It seemed more like passivity to me. Then she’d randomly pull back from a scene and opine about the hardship of women from centuries, like she was connected to some grand struggle. It was hard for me to make that same link when she lives in present day and has access to a lot of wealth and privilege. I’m not denying that she has some big hardships. However, she has way more options than women back then and by the book’s end, she has even more resources than she initially realized. It felt like she was trying to convince me that being a wife and mother was her greatest calling and she was willing to sacrifice her own well-being as a result. I simply don’t subscribe to that notion. I really struggle with martyr-types personally but I can read about them if the emotional arc is there. Unfortunately, it wasn’t.
Nicky does not have an official diagnosis but he’s been evaluated for autism, ADHD, oppositional defiant disorder, and Tourette’s. In the Author’s Note, Belfer refers to him simply as neurodiverse. He is impulsive, labile, self-harming, and both physically and verbally abusive toward Hannah during his rage episodes. This made for rough reading, particularly an episode in which he cuts his hand with scissors and then stabs Hannah.
I’m not an expert in neurodiversity but I used to be a medical social worker so I know enough to have some qualms with the representation. Nicky isn’t on medication and Hannah has some stigmatizing beliefs about kids who are on medication. It may be true that whatever Nicky tried in the past didn’t work for him or they couldn’t figure out the right dosage. It may also be true that therapy-only is the right choice for Nicky to help him learn to manage these episodes and prevent them from happening. If this is the case, it makes no sense why Hannah wouldn’t find a therapist for Nicky while they’re in Cambridge for the summer and even less sense that she still wouldn’t find one once Christopher gets more sick and they decide to stay for the school year. Nicky clearly needs therapeutic support and so does Hannah. It was very frustrating that she did nothing on that front until the very end of the book. Just because he was doing somewhat better in England doesn’t mean they can skate by without any intervention. I was also upset she didn’t tell Alice, the babysitter, about Nicky’s rages. This was downright dangerous. It’s not fair to Alice, who may not have the capacity or knowledge to handle him lashing out and potentially hurting her or himself, but it’s also not safe for Nicky either. I didn’t get the sense that Hannah was burned out or frozen by anxiety so none of her decisions made sense to me.
All that aside, central kid characters in adult fiction are not my favorite and that was true here too. Nicky came across as too much of a plot moppet and I didn’t think his age matched what was presented on page. I was often annoyed and bewildered by him as a result. Mostly, I was concerned for his safety and well-being and Hannah’s as well. I wish this had all been better addressed.
The last thing I want to address is how the story handled its LGBTQ+ characters, which was not the best. This will be spoilery so skip the next two paragraphs if you don't want to know. Kevin came across as the stereotype of the duplicitous unfaithful bisexual. Before Hannah came to Cambridge, she saw Kevin with another man. When he comes to England for a visit, she confronts him about it and he reveals that he’s bisexual. He further says that he’s been cheating on her with that man, who is also married with children, for the entirety of their relationship. Kevin is completely nonchalant about it, as if it's completely normal that he would have a lover without her knowledge. He doesn’t want a divorce and he’s not going to end the relationship because he sees it as an expression of his bisexuality. Except bisexuality is about who you’re attracted to, not who you have sex with. Basically he’s rationalizing his infidelity and gaslighting her in the process. He wants to be polyamorous…but only he gets to see someone outside of their marriage. Hannah has to stay monogamous. She never got the option of consenting to him being polyamorous, which is the opposite of how polyamory works.
There was all kinds of casual biphobia baked into the plot from a number of characters, including the idea that “it’s not really cheating if it’s with the same gender”. When Hannah pushes back on his expectations and says he can continue his relationship as long as she has the option of finding someone too, he says she can’t be with another man for BS reasons and then threatens to go have sex with a woman so she can see how he would feel. Kevin becomes cartoonishly villainous after that (see content notes) so there’s the question of the Evil Bisexual trope. There is another queer character to somewhat counter that.
I had a hard time knowing how to rate this one. There were parts I really enjoyed. It wasn’t a hardship to finish. But the narrative was disjointed in places and there were a number of things that didn’t work for me, particularly the queer rep and the way it ended.
Characters: Hannah is a white secular Jewish American mother finishing her dissertation in ancient Greek art (PhD in Classical Studies) and she has a part-time job licensing art to companies. Her husband Kevin is a lawyer; they’ve been married 12 years. Her son Nicky is 9 and neurodiverse—he does not have an official diagnosis but he’s been evaluated for autism, ADHD, oppositional defiant disorder, and Tourette’s. Hannah’s cousin Christopher is a white American a retired art dealer in his late 80s. He has a very good dog named Duncan. Matthew is a divorced white British archaeologist. This is set in Cambridge, England.
Content notes: , family member with unspecified cancer (), FMC’s child is physically and verbally abusive to her (includes kicking, punching, and stabbing with scissors—someone arrives and keeps the stabbing from being worse), self-harm by child (Nicky cuts his hand with scissors, bangs his head on a table, and other self-harming behaviors during episodes), blood, child’s rage episode is described as a seizure, two children with unspecified neurodiverse diagnoses (including FMC’s child), infidelity , intimate partner violence (, gaslighting, secondary character recounts past rape, ableism (some is countered), biphobia (), Evil Bisexual trope, bierasure (FMC doesn’t contemplate her husband could be bi when she sees him with a man), homophobia, closeted secondary characters (), skeleton , past plague, past divorce (secondary character), past miscarriage, war references and atrocities (FMC’s mom [Jewish] was part of Kindertransport during WWII while parents hid until they were betrayed by neighbors and shot outside the house), past death of FMC’s mother, FMC’s mother got pregnant through artificial insemination, past death of secondary characters’ spouses, on page sex (not explicit, mostly closed door scenes), alcohol, cigarettes (secondary character), gender essentialism (although there is acknowledgment that trans people existed in the 1600s), ableist language, acknowledgment of enslavement (did not occur at Ashton Hall), multiple references to past/historical death of infants and children (infant and child mortality rates), multiple references to various causes of death from the past (including sepsis, suicide, pancreatic cancer)
There’s a lot of time spent going through records and reviewing materials uncovered in the secret rooms in Ashton Hall. Research can be drudgery and there’s a fine line between presenting the reality of uncovering the past and not boring readers in the process. I didn’t need to know every book checked out on the library register or all the household purchases but it did help establish Hannah’s work process and show that figuring out what happened to Isabella was probably not going to be flashy. I enjoyed learning more about the late 1500s while Isabella was alive and how they ultimately learned the truth. It was also interesting how much projection was involved with each character’s theory about what happened to Isabella. Projection turned out to be a pretty big theme in this whole story, with everyone putting forth their biases about whatever Hannah faces.
In addition to the mystery, Hannah is grappling with her cousin Christopher’s decline from cancer, the recent knowledge that her husband Kevin is cheating on her, and her son’s issues. The book is much more focused on these aspects of her life. I often felt disconnected from Hannah. She was wishy-washy, letting life happen to her and not seeming to take much ownership of her choices. Now maybe this was just due to exhaustion with managing Nicky’s moods and not having any idea about what to do with Kevin. It seemed more like passivity to me. Then she’d randomly pull back from a scene and opine about the hardship of women from centuries, like she was connected to some grand struggle. It was hard for me to make that same link when she lives in present day and has access to a lot of wealth and privilege. I’m not denying that she has some big hardships. However, she has way more options than women back then and by the book’s end, she has even more resources than she initially realized. It felt like she was trying to convince me that being a wife and mother was her greatest calling and she was willing to sacrifice her own well-being as a result. I simply don’t subscribe to that notion. I really struggle with martyr-types personally but I can read about them if the emotional arc is there. Unfortunately, it wasn’t.
Nicky does not have an official diagnosis but he’s been evaluated for autism, ADHD, oppositional defiant disorder, and Tourette’s. In the Author’s Note, Belfer refers to him simply as neurodiverse. He is impulsive, labile, self-harming, and both physically and verbally abusive toward Hannah during his rage episodes. This made for rough reading, particularly an episode in which he cuts his hand with scissors and then stabs Hannah.
I’m not an expert in neurodiversity but I used to be a medical social worker so I know enough to have some qualms with the representation. Nicky isn’t on medication and Hannah has some stigmatizing beliefs about kids who are on medication. It may be true that whatever Nicky tried in the past didn’t work for him or they couldn’t figure out the right dosage. It may also be true that therapy-only is the right choice for Nicky to help him learn to manage these episodes and prevent them from happening. If this is the case, it makes no sense why Hannah wouldn’t find a therapist for Nicky while they’re in Cambridge for the summer and even less sense that she still wouldn’t find one once Christopher gets more sick and they decide to stay for the school year. Nicky clearly needs therapeutic support and so does Hannah. It was very frustrating that she did nothing on that front until the very end of the book. Just because he was doing somewhat better in England doesn’t mean they can skate by without any intervention. I was also upset she didn’t tell Alice, the babysitter, about Nicky’s rages. This was downright dangerous. It’s not fair to Alice, who may not have the capacity or knowledge to handle him lashing out and potentially hurting her or himself, but it’s also not safe for Nicky either. I didn’t get the sense that Hannah was burned out or frozen by anxiety so none of her decisions made sense to me.
All that aside, central kid characters in adult fiction are not my favorite and that was true here too. Nicky came across as too much of a plot moppet and I didn’t think his age matched what was presented on page. I was often annoyed and bewildered by him as a result. Mostly, I was concerned for his safety and well-being and Hannah’s as well. I wish this had all been better addressed.
The last thing I want to address is how the story handled its LGBTQ+ characters, which was not the best. This will be spoilery so skip the next two paragraphs if you don't want to know. Kevin came across as the stereotype of the duplicitous unfaithful bisexual. Before Hannah came to Cambridge, she saw Kevin with another man. When he comes to England for a visit, she confronts him about it and he reveals that he’s bisexual. He further says that he’s been cheating on her with that man, who is also married with children, for the entirety of their relationship. Kevin is completely nonchalant about it, as if it's completely normal that he would have a lover without her knowledge. He doesn’t want a divorce and he’s not going to end the relationship because he sees it as an expression of his bisexuality. Except bisexuality is about who you’re attracted to, not who you have sex with. Basically he’s rationalizing his infidelity and gaslighting her in the process. He wants to be polyamorous…but only he gets to see someone outside of their marriage. Hannah has to stay monogamous. She never got the option of consenting to him being polyamorous, which is the opposite of how polyamory works.
There was all kinds of casual biphobia baked into the plot from a number of characters, including the idea that “it’s not really cheating if it’s with the same gender”. When Hannah pushes back on his expectations and says he can continue his relationship as long as she has the option of finding someone too, he says she can’t be with another man for BS reasons and then threatens to go have sex with a woman so she can see how he would feel. Kevin becomes cartoonishly villainous after that (see content notes) so there’s the question of the Evil Bisexual trope. There is another queer character to somewhat counter that.
I had a hard time knowing how to rate this one. There were parts I really enjoyed. It wasn’t a hardship to finish. But the narrative was disjointed in places and there were a number of things that didn’t work for me, particularly the queer rep and the way it ended.
Characters: Hannah is a white secular Jewish American mother finishing her dissertation in ancient Greek art (PhD in Classical Studies) and she has a part-time job licensing art to companies. Her husband Kevin is a lawyer; they’ve been married 12 years. Her son Nicky is 9 and neurodiverse—he does not have an official diagnosis but he’s been evaluated for autism, ADHD, oppositional defiant disorder, and Tourette’s. Hannah’s cousin Christopher is a white American a retired art dealer in his late 80s. He has a very good dog named Duncan. Matthew is a divorced white British archaeologist. This is set in Cambridge, England.
Content notes: , family member with unspecified cancer (), FMC’s child is physically and verbally abusive to her (includes kicking, punching, and stabbing with scissors—someone arrives and keeps the stabbing from being worse), self-harm by child (Nicky cuts his hand with scissors, bangs his head on a table, and other self-harming behaviors during episodes), blood, child’s rage episode is described as a seizure, two children with unspecified neurodiverse diagnoses (including FMC’s child), infidelity , intimate partner violence (, gaslighting, secondary character recounts past rape, ableism (some is countered), biphobia (), Evil Bisexual trope, bierasure (FMC doesn’t contemplate her husband could be bi when she sees him with a man), homophobia, closeted secondary characters (), skeleton , past plague, past divorce (secondary character), past miscarriage, war references and atrocities (FMC’s mom [Jewish] was part of Kindertransport during WWII while parents hid until they were betrayed by neighbors and shot outside the house), past death of FMC’s mother, FMC’s mother got pregnant through artificial insemination, past death of secondary characters’ spouses, on page sex (not explicit, mostly closed door scenes), alcohol, cigarettes (secondary character), gender essentialism (although there is acknowledgment that trans people existed in the 1600s), ableist language, acknowledgment of enslavement (did not occur at Ashton Hall), multiple references to past/historical death of infants and children (infant and child mortality rates), multiple references to various causes of death from the past (including sepsis, suicide, pancreatic cancer)
March 6, 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 neurodiverse son move from NY to Cambridge England for the summer to take care of her dying honorary uncle. There are many themes at play from the start including marriage, monogamy, family in general and neurodiversity. Before long, we are simultaneously plunged us into the 1850's when a skeleton in a walled off room is discovered.
As a ABD academic, Helen has many, many academic conversations with the archeologists, the locals and friends of friends in town. Via these conversations I learned MUCH about the Great Plague, language and Latin, aristocracy and life in the 1800s. None of it was boring, pedantic or out of place! It is truly a book that will make you smarter!
Helen also discusses much about the interactions between everyday Great Britains (especially as compared to Americans), the issues she faces as a parent of child who can be unruly in public, and her own personal questions about her family and lineage. There are so many great story lines, this book is just fantastic in terms of interest. This is truly not your run-of-the-mill mystery story.
My own complaint is that I did not feel that every story line was tied up as neatly as could be. What will happen in two years, for instance? I did love the real characters and the real women who did not simper and suffer quietly.
If you are interested in Great Britain, history in general, neurodiversity, family life, monogamy or just want a historical mystery, then #AshtonHall is for you!
#Randomhouse #Ballantine #NetGalley
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 neurodiverse son move from NY to Cambridge England for the summer to take care of her dying honorary uncle. There are many themes at play from the start including marriage, monogamy, family in general and neurodiversity. Before long, we are simultaneously plunged us into the 1850's when a skeleton in a walled off room is discovered.
As a ABD academic, Helen has many, many academic conversations with the archeologists, the locals and friends of friends in town. Via these conversations I learned MUCH about the Great Plague, language and Latin, aristocracy and life in the 1800s. None of it was boring, pedantic or out of place! It is truly a book that will make you smarter!
Helen also discusses much about the interactions between everyday Great Britains (especially as compared to Americans), the issues she faces as a parent of child who can be unruly in public, and her own personal questions about her family and lineage. There are so many great story lines, this book is just fantastic in terms of interest. This is truly not your run-of-the-mill mystery story.
My own complaint is that I did not feel that every story line was tied up as neatly as could be. What will happen in two years, for instance? I did love the real characters and the real women who did not simper and suffer quietly.
If you are interested in Great Britain, history in general, neurodiversity, family life, monogamy or just want a historical mystery, then #AshtonHall is for you!
#Randomhouse #Ballantine #NetGalley
October 5, 2022
Although, for me, there were some pacing issues, this was an very unusual and extremely interesting reading experience.
4.5 stars
4.5 stars
May 1, 2022
Well, this book was definitely not what I expected when I requested an Advanced Reader’s Copy. The description stated that a skeleton was found hidden in an old English Castle. I was looking forward to some suspense and possibly a ghostly haunting. Instead the story was about a very tame and “proper” English investigation into the discovery.
I think that a reader who is interested in the Tudor Era of English History or someone who Is into anthropology would appreciate this book more than I did. I also found the contemporary element of the story a bit slow. This book was just not for me.
I think that a reader who is interested in the Tudor Era of English History or someone who Is into anthropology would appreciate this book more than I did. I also found the contemporary element of the story a bit slow. This book was just not for me.
July 15, 2022
I really enjoyed this. The closest comp I can think of in order to sell this book to friends is the modern part of a Susanna Kearsley book where they're trying to solve the historical mystery portion of her books. It is definitely a cousin to The Shadowy Horses, not the least because there's an archaeologist character. I thought that the complicated lives of the characters were very well drawn, and I ended having sympathy for almost all of them. (Not all. Almost all.) In particular, I was struck by how everyone's own lived experiences were reflected in their assumptions about what must have happened to the long dead woman at the heart of the story, and how all of them had a piece that was correct. Would definitely check out more work by the author.
August 29, 2022
I love a good dual timeline historical mystery! This book gave me tons of Possession vibes with a great investigation into a dead Elizabethan woman's past life in an English manor house, Ashton Hall. Staying at Ashton Hall for the summer, American mother Hannah Larson and her son Nicky get wrapped up in the history of the house when Nicky discovers a dead body hidden in the walls. I loved how Hannah and Nicky both get drawn into figuring out what the dead woman's life was like and the focus on what mothering a child with special needs is like through Hannah's eyes. Her son has an undiagnosed condition (somewhere along the lines of ADHD or Autism, with a unique violent tendency). Great on audio and perfect for fans of Kate Morton or AS Byatt, I got sucked into this story right from the start and didn't want it to end. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!
May 12, 2022
This book wasn’t quite what I was expecting. For the most part I enjoyed the book. I did feel like it dragged in spots but in others it raced right along. I was kinda surprised with the last chapter but I guess I shouldn’t have been.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy
March 3, 2022
Hannah Larson has dropped her art history schooling to take care of Nicky, her emotionally challenged son. He has been evaluated for autism, adhd, oppositional defiant hyperactivity and neurodiversity, with no therapy really working. The majority of her time goes to Nicky, but she has a part-time online job finding art images for manufactured goods. Then Hannah gets a call from her honorary uncle who is dying to come stay with him and his caretaker at Ashton Hall. The house dates from the early 1600's and some architecture earlier, with a fine library and gardens, etc., open to the public. Just before leaving New York, she discovers her husband has been seeing someone else, which adds to her pain. Nicky likes exploring Ashton Hall and finds a secret room containing a skeleton, along with various ledgers and a few other objects. Was she an anchoress of sorts in 16th century England when being a Protestant or Catholic was a death sentence depending on who was on the throne? Was she walled in by choice? It is through the parish ledgers and family items in the room that the skeleton is eventually identified as Isabella Cresham. It is through these items that a local archaeologist, the librarian on the estate, and Hannah learn her story and it is the most interesting of the two. There are all kinds of secrets in the story and the fact that Hannah does not tell the young woman, Alice, the estate keepers' granddaughter who takes care of Nicky, that he has fits of rage is an unforgiveable action on her part for me as a reader. Nicky and Isabelle are compelling characters as is the art history and history, but Hannah I could not warm up to. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
June 4, 2022
⭐️⭐️.5
This book was definitely a struggle for me, I almost did not finish. It is very in-depth with descriptions and historical information, as well as library registers from the 1500s, listed out as to who lives there checked out which books for numerous pages. If you are a history person, this is probably up your alley. The storyline also was very pushy about open marriages and different relationships that also just did not interest me.
Thanks to Netgalley and Random house publishing for my electronic advanced reader copy.
This book was definitely a struggle for me, I almost did not finish. It is very in-depth with descriptions and historical information, as well as library registers from the 1500s, listed out as to who lives there checked out which books for numerous pages. If you are a history person, this is probably up your alley. The storyline also was very pushy about open marriages and different relationships that also just did not interest me.
Thanks to Netgalley and Random house publishing for my electronic advanced reader copy.
June 6, 2022
Lauren Belfer’s Ashton Hall is an in-depth contemplation of marriage, motherhood and history as one woman sifts through a mystery hiding within the walls of the aging manor Ashton Hall. Pitched as an atmospheric gothic, this falls way more into the historical (almost analytical) fiction genre. Set aside time to read this one, it’s a slow, thoughtful read filled with detailed descriptions, historical references, registers and a woman’s thought-provoking self-analysis.
I went into this expecting a gothic mystery but within the first few pages knew that it was heading in a totally different direction. The English manor Ashton Hall reads almost as a character in itself and is definitely a classic gothic one. Other than that, though, it really isn’t a gothic mystery but more Brit Lit historical fiction. The pacing is intentionally slow. Don’t expect to breeze through this one. It’s over 400 pages and each page is a contemporary introspection into big themes of marriage, motherhood, women’s place in society spanning the years, religion and more. It’s not laborsome reading per se, but it demands your attention and will get you thinking.
I liked our main character Hannah Larson. I related to her on a lot of levels including the sacrifices and pressures of motherhood—often at the expense of tabling careers or previous dreams. I found her husband Kevin patronizing, egotistical and absolutely loathsome. Sometimes I wasn’t sure if Belfer was trying to pitch open marriage to me or if that was just the marriage story line (which I didn’t enjoy). Needless to say, I felt for Hannah and really didn’t like Kevin.
Belfler has an engaging and beautiful style of writing. Even with such dense subject matter and the amount of information, I did enjoy the self-reflection and parallels Hannah was constantly drawing between herself in the present world to the mystery her son found hidden within the walls of Ashton Hall. I enjoyed the connections and the investigative side to that part of the story most.
This book won’t be for everyone (what book is, though) and I would recommend it most for anyone interested in historical fiction, historians, fans of brit lit and those who enjoy a contemporary lens comparing past to present.
Thank you to Penguin Random House for the arc of this book
I went into this expecting a gothic mystery but within the first few pages knew that it was heading in a totally different direction. The English manor Ashton Hall reads almost as a character in itself and is definitely a classic gothic one. Other than that, though, it really isn’t a gothic mystery but more Brit Lit historical fiction. The pacing is intentionally slow. Don’t expect to breeze through this one. It’s over 400 pages and each page is a contemporary introspection into big themes of marriage, motherhood, women’s place in society spanning the years, religion and more. It’s not laborsome reading per se, but it demands your attention and will get you thinking.
I liked our main character Hannah Larson. I related to her on a lot of levels including the sacrifices and pressures of motherhood—often at the expense of tabling careers or previous dreams. I found her husband Kevin patronizing, egotistical and absolutely loathsome. Sometimes I wasn’t sure if Belfer was trying to pitch open marriage to me or if that was just the marriage story line (which I didn’t enjoy). Needless to say, I felt for Hannah and really didn’t like Kevin.
Belfler has an engaging and beautiful style of writing. Even with such dense subject matter and the amount of information, I did enjoy the self-reflection and parallels Hannah was constantly drawing between herself in the present world to the mystery her son found hidden within the walls of Ashton Hall. I enjoyed the connections and the investigative side to that part of the story most.
This book won’t be for everyone (what book is, though) and I would recommend it most for anyone interested in historical fiction, historians, fans of brit lit and those who enjoy a contemporary lens comparing past to present.
Thank you to Penguin Random House for the arc of this book
December 12, 2023
It’s getting cold outside - so a story about a large, old English home, and American mother and her son who come to visit and the discovery of a long dead woman made for a fun read. The house descriptions were great – from libraries to priest holes. However the unravelling of the dead woman’s life just wasn’t enough to capture my full interest - this one will not linger with me.
June 1, 2022
Although I had hoped for more of a mystery than was presented, this book still gives the reader some interesting points of view and perspectives. The pace is slow and thoughtful. Throughout the story, difficult subject matter is carefully and tastefully delivered. There's betrayal, the challenges of raising children struggling with neurodiversity, family secrets and religious persecution, just to name a few.
After the difficult discovery of her husband's long-held secret, Hannah Larson, accompanied by her challenging son, Nicky, departs her home in New York City to spend a summer's visit in Cambridge with her adoptive uncle in his Ashton Hall apartment. The uncle encourages Hannah to reignite her pursuit of her History PhD thesis, which was halted with the birth of her son. The Uncle departs shortly thereafter for medical treatment back stateside leaving Hannah and Nicky with the full run of his section of the manor. Early one morning, Nicky drags his mom to a forgotten Tudor section of the manor to share his amazing discovery with her - a skeleton in repose. Who is this woman? When did she expire? Why was she trapped in the room? So many questions left unanswered. What will it take to unravel the mystery? The discovery soon moves from a police investigation to an archeological case study.
Author Lauren Belfer has obviously done her research into the travails of Tudor England Roman Catholicism. Hunted priests were hiding in manor house priest holes; private mass services were held quietly in homes; and neighbors were spying on neighbors. She slowly and deftly delivers the details of this fictional Tudor woman's history through Hannah's passion for research and eagerness to assist in cataloguing the manor's historic records. Meanwhile, there is Hannah's dealing with her child who has sudden angry and physical outbursts which are becoming increasingly so.
This book was interesting in its presentation of the ways of women through history. As much as times change, so much stays the same. Women are presumed the caregivers who place their professional development on hold as needed and men may do as they please without consideration. The Tudor period historical research infused into the story was fascinating. The discussion of childhood neurodiversity was a creative foil in the story's delivery. All in all, this was an informative and thoughtful book.
I am grateful to Ballantine Books for having provided a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Their generosity, however, has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone.
After the difficult discovery of her husband's long-held secret, Hannah Larson, accompanied by her challenging son, Nicky, departs her home in New York City to spend a summer's visit in Cambridge with her adoptive uncle in his Ashton Hall apartment. The uncle encourages Hannah to reignite her pursuit of her History PhD thesis, which was halted with the birth of her son. The Uncle departs shortly thereafter for medical treatment back stateside leaving Hannah and Nicky with the full run of his section of the manor. Early one morning, Nicky drags his mom to a forgotten Tudor section of the manor to share his amazing discovery with her - a skeleton in repose. Who is this woman? When did she expire? Why was she trapped in the room? So many questions left unanswered. What will it take to unravel the mystery? The discovery soon moves from a police investigation to an archeological case study.
Author Lauren Belfer has obviously done her research into the travails of Tudor England Roman Catholicism. Hunted priests were hiding in manor house priest holes; private mass services were held quietly in homes; and neighbors were spying on neighbors. She slowly and deftly delivers the details of this fictional Tudor woman's history through Hannah's passion for research and eagerness to assist in cataloguing the manor's historic records. Meanwhile, there is Hannah's dealing with her child who has sudden angry and physical outbursts which are becoming increasingly so.
This book was interesting in its presentation of the ways of women through history. As much as times change, so much stays the same. Women are presumed the caregivers who place their professional development on hold as needed and men may do as they please without consideration. The Tudor period historical research infused into the story was fascinating. The discussion of childhood neurodiversity was a creative foil in the story's delivery. All in all, this was an informative and thoughtful book.
I am grateful to Ballantine Books for having provided a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Their generosity, however, has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone.
June 10, 2022
High 4 ⭐️
I picked this book solely on its looks. Yep, that’s why I wanted to read it. Shallow huh? Well maybe. So many covers are that great and I loved this one. Loved.
About the book.
It’s a historical and present day telling. Basically it’s present day and something is found at Ashton Hall and it will need a lot of investigating. The book gave me a front row seat to the MC life.
The author portrays difficult relationships with overwhelming situations and it had a several. I just can’t even imagine this woman’s life. I’d not given much thought or heard much about neurodiverse children. I guess no one wants to talks about.
I also enjoyed the speculation about what happened. Lots of scenarios were played out. It really made me think.
The part of the book that really cooked my pot was about monogamy. Like mo one can do it. Emotionally faithful? Is that a thing we’re really excepting today??? And then I want to ask that person if they ever where cheated on. Yeah, that’s what I thought.
Anyway I thought the book good and very interesting. It made me think about women. And what’s our opportunities and what holds us back in society. Can we really be as “successful” as men? Just a thought.
I almost put this down because it starts out slow but ended up finding my pace with it. I do recommend it.
Thanks Ballantine Books via Netgalley.
I picked this book solely on its looks. Yep, that’s why I wanted to read it. Shallow huh? Well maybe. So many covers are that great and I loved this one. Loved.
About the book.
It’s a historical and present day telling. Basically it’s present day and something is found at Ashton Hall and it will need a lot of investigating. The book gave me a front row seat to the MC life.
The author portrays difficult relationships with overwhelming situations and it had a several. I just can’t even imagine this woman’s life. I’d not given much thought or heard much about neurodiverse children. I guess no one wants to talks about.
I also enjoyed the speculation about what happened. Lots of scenarios were played out. It really made me think.
The part of the book that really cooked my pot was about monogamy. Like mo one can do it. Emotionally faithful? Is that a thing we’re really excepting today??? And then I want to ask that person if they ever where cheated on. Yeah, that’s what I thought.
Anyway I thought the book good and very interesting. It made me think about women. And what’s our opportunities and what holds us back in society. Can we really be as “successful” as men? Just a thought.
I almost put this down because it starts out slow but ended up finding my pace with it. I do recommend it.
Thanks Ballantine Books via Netgalley.
June 9, 2022
When Hannah Larson and her young son Nicky travel from their home in New York to Ashton Hall, an English manor house, they aren't counting on becoming embroiled in a centuries old mystery.
I didn't know exactly what I was expecting from this book, however what I got was not it. Most of the story dealt with her son's social and emotional issues and the problems in her marriage. I would have liked more about history of the estate and mystery of Isabella Cresham. It started off well, but after a while I felt like I was waiting for something to happen. Actually my favorite part of the book was the chapter of Hannah's novel and the Author's notes. I found both very intriguing.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I didn't know exactly what I was expecting from this book, however what I got was not it. Most of the story dealt with her son's social and emotional issues and the problems in her marriage. I would have liked more about history of the estate and mystery of Isabella Cresham. It started off well, but after a while I felt like I was waiting for something to happen. Actually my favorite part of the book was the chapter of Hannah's novel and the Author's notes. I found both very intriguing.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
September 13, 2022
I did not, COULD not, finish this book. I didn’t enjoy the writing, and thought the dialogue was a bit…lazy. There was nothing gothic about the scenery (it wasn’t conveyed that way through the book), and the characters were flat and unlikeable. I tried to push through, believing it would get better, but I eventually had to put it down.
September 25, 2022
Not what I thought it was going to be. Very boring. I read the first half and skimmed the rest.
June 11, 2022
5.0
A few weeks ago, I received a Goodreads email, where Fiona Davis recommended Ashton Hall. I decided to pre-order the book and give it a try!
Wow!
Hannah and her son Nicky go to England to stay for the summer with a sick and dying relative. When they arrive, he informs them that he is going to NYC for experimental medical treatment. They decide to stay in England in the relative’s manor. While exploring the closed-off portion of the manor one morning, Nicky discovers a skeleton in a hidden room. This area had not been explored in modern time. The room contained a desk and supplies, candelabra, keyboard instrument, a statue, a prie dieu, and her embroidery basket. A rosary, sewing needle, and drawings were also found.
After a radiocarbon test, it is determined that the body died 1545-1610. Daily record expense ledgers are found in the muniment room. Thus begins the search to learn the identity of the skeleton and why she was imprisoned in this room. The ledgers and some letters found, will create the context of her life.
How was Isabella identified?
Why was Isabella in this hidden room? When were the windows bricked over?
How did the religion of the time play a part in Isabella’s story?
Some theories were: she had the wrong religion for the times, she had an affair, she was in quarantine because of the plague. Were any of these theories correct?
Nicky is a special needs 9-year-old. How do his behaviors affect their everyday life?
Note: A muniment room is a storage room for preservation of records including deeds, notebooks, manuscripts, expense accounts.
* A great ending!
* This is my favorite book of 2022. So far!
A few weeks ago, I received a Goodreads email, where Fiona Davis recommended Ashton Hall. I decided to pre-order the book and give it a try!
Wow!
Hannah and her son Nicky go to England to stay for the summer with a sick and dying relative. When they arrive, he informs them that he is going to NYC for experimental medical treatment. They decide to stay in England in the relative’s manor. While exploring the closed-off portion of the manor one morning, Nicky discovers a skeleton in a hidden room. This area had not been explored in modern time. The room contained a desk and supplies, candelabra, keyboard instrument, a statue, a prie dieu, and her embroidery basket. A rosary, sewing needle, and drawings were also found.
After a radiocarbon test, it is determined that the body died 1545-1610. Daily record expense ledgers are found in the muniment room. Thus begins the search to learn the identity of the skeleton and why she was imprisoned in this room. The ledgers and some letters found, will create the context of her life.
How was Isabella identified?
Why was Isabella in this hidden room? When were the windows bricked over?
How did the religion of the time play a part in Isabella’s story?
Some theories were: she had the wrong religion for the times, she had an affair, she was in quarantine because of the plague. Were any of these theories correct?
Nicky is a special needs 9-year-old. How do his behaviors affect their everyday life?
Note: A muniment room is a storage room for preservation of records including deeds, notebooks, manuscripts, expense accounts.
* A great ending!
* This is my favorite book of 2022. So far!
June 6, 2022
"A house begins to disintegrate, and all its secrets are revealed: a female skeleton imprisoned in an attic" is the longest kept secret of Ashton Hall.
"Generations of women had made their home here, women with dreams, visions, intellect; women who’d struggled to find their way, to be taken seriously by the men around them, and who’d tried to achieve something, anything, and found themselves stymied. Their stories and their limited range of choices weren’t as distant as they sometimes seemed."
Like her dying, aged uncle Christopher, Hannah Larsen is about to "fulfill the dream of living in an English stately home. Now I was Nicky’s mother, with little time left over for anything else." Her only part time job is working "at a small family -owned firm that handled licensing arrangements for museums."
This book is at times frustrating and feels hopeless, as Hannah suffers through her son’s violent rage-fits, deals with a crumbling marriage, and swims lost in a sea of trying to find belonging and independence. The ending finally resolves this with a touch of women’s empowerment, but it is only in the last few chapters. Also the mystery of a woman who is found to have died in the attic of the old mansion is dragged out very, very long with little story to hold interest until the final full reveal. The breaks to describe scenery aspire to be like du Maurier’s classic Rebecca or the classic Jane Eyre, but often they are just a means of delaying the story and feel like a tangent or unnecessary diversion, and lack the two classic author’s vividness. Hannah is a lost, struggling woman who doesn’t know what she wants until the end, and puts up with far too much abuse from her son and husband. This book may be triggering for those who’ve suffered such difficulties.
I received this book in exchange for my honest review from Net Galley. All opinions expressed here are my own and do not reflect those of the publisher or its affiliates or the author.
"Generations of women had made their home here, women with dreams, visions, intellect; women who’d struggled to find their way, to be taken seriously by the men around them, and who’d tried to achieve something, anything, and found themselves stymied. Their stories and their limited range of choices weren’t as distant as they sometimes seemed."
Like her dying, aged uncle Christopher, Hannah Larsen is about to "fulfill the dream of living in an English stately home. Now I was Nicky’s mother, with little time left over for anything else." Her only part time job is working "at a small family -owned firm that handled licensing arrangements for museums."
This book is at times frustrating and feels hopeless, as Hannah suffers through her son’s violent rage-fits, deals with a crumbling marriage, and swims lost in a sea of trying to find belonging and independence. The ending finally resolves this with a touch of women’s empowerment, but it is only in the last few chapters. Also the mystery of a woman who is found to have died in the attic of the old mansion is dragged out very, very long with little story to hold interest until the final full reveal. The breaks to describe scenery aspire to be like du Maurier’s classic Rebecca or the classic Jane Eyre, but often they are just a means of delaying the story and feel like a tangent or unnecessary diversion, and lack the two classic author’s vividness. Hannah is a lost, struggling woman who doesn’t know what she wants until the end, and puts up with far too much abuse from her son and husband. This book may be triggering for those who’ve suffered such difficulties.
I received this book in exchange for my honest review from Net Galley. All opinions expressed here are my own and do not reflect those of the publisher or its affiliates or the author.
March 28, 2022
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of
Ashton Hall.
I've never read a book by this author before but this was a good introduction to her work.
** Minor spoilers ahead **
I enjoyed the tale of Hannah Larson and her neurodiverse son, Nicky, who discovers a skeleton in the old-timey fun-timey mansion they are staying at with her uncle in the UK.
This is a slow burn of a story, focused on character development with intriguing historical context about the roles women played in the 16th century.
I liked learning about anchoresses, and though the hostility between Catholics and Protestants is not unknown to me, I liked how the novel focuses on Isabella Cresham as a devout Catholic and her choice to serve God.
My favorite characters were Duncan (dogs rule!), Martha and Christopher.
I didn't dislike Hannah, but I didn't like her very much.
I found her behavior oddly naive for an educated woman raised by an unconventional mother.
Hannah didn't believe Isabella would choose a life of an anchoress, I get it, she's not a religious person, but as an educated person, she seemed uneducated about the few roles women had other than wife and mother in the past.
I found this ironic since Hannah was married to a man she depended on for financial security.
I enjoyed the brief chapter at the end about Isabella's fate and it was a not surprising twist to Isabella's story.
I enjoyed this; the writing was great, the tone and style was comfortable and flowed easily.
I've never read a book by this author before but this was a good introduction to her work.
** Minor spoilers ahead **
I enjoyed the tale of Hannah Larson and her neurodiverse son, Nicky, who discovers a skeleton in the old-timey fun-timey mansion they are staying at with her uncle in the UK.
This is a slow burn of a story, focused on character development with intriguing historical context about the roles women played in the 16th century.
I liked learning about anchoresses, and though the hostility between Catholics and Protestants is not unknown to me, I liked how the novel focuses on Isabella Cresham as a devout Catholic and her choice to serve God.
My favorite characters were Duncan (dogs rule!), Martha and Christopher.
I didn't dislike Hannah, but I didn't like her very much.
I found her behavior oddly naive for an educated woman raised by an unconventional mother.
Hannah didn't believe Isabella would choose a life of an anchoress, I get it, she's not a religious person, but as an educated person, she seemed uneducated about the few roles women had other than wife and mother in the past.
I found this ironic since Hannah was married to a man she depended on for financial security.
I enjoyed the brief chapter at the end about Isabella's fate and it was a not surprising twist to Isabella's story.
I enjoyed this; the writing was great, the tone and style was comfortable and flowed easily.
May 30, 2022
This book is full of ambiance which made it really fun! We visit Ashton Hall, an old manor house that is now split up into different apartments with a house manager. This allows this large and historic "home" to remain open and enjoyed.
Two Americans, Hannah and her son Nicky visit Ashton Hall and a family member for the summer. Soon after arriving Nicky explores deep into the house. Upon doing so, he finds skeletal remains--the story then splits into two stories. Of the ancient bones and how they got there, and also the current life of Nicky and Hannah.
I definitely preferred the older story of Ashton Hall and the mystery of unraveling the story of the bones. I almost felt like I was the explorer and researcher into the past!
I did not care for the current story line for a couple of reasons. I did not care for the relationships and how they were handled. It seemed unnecessary and even a bit preachy to me. I also didn't care for how Nicky's problems were addressed and handled. I hate to say more without spoilers.
Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the e-copy in return for my honest review.
Two Americans, Hannah and her son Nicky visit Ashton Hall and a family member for the summer. Soon after arriving Nicky explores deep into the house. Upon doing so, he finds skeletal remains--the story then splits into two stories. Of the ancient bones and how they got there, and also the current life of Nicky and Hannah.
I definitely preferred the older story of Ashton Hall and the mystery of unraveling the story of the bones. I almost felt like I was the explorer and researcher into the past!
I did not care for the current story line for a couple of reasons. I did not care for the relationships and how they were handled. It seemed unnecessary and even a bit preachy to me. I also didn't care for how Nicky's problems were addressed and handled. I hate to say more without spoilers.
Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the e-copy in return for my honest review.
December 15, 2022
This book doesn’t live up to its hype. The main character is unlikable. The writing is very poor. The research into the historical era gets in the way of feeling empathy for the characters and getting into the story. Overall, very heavy handed.
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