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?"

American 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.

Hannah and her son Nicky go to Cambridge to stay with her uncle while he goes through cancer treatment but find that he's gone to NY. The creepy home sets the stage for Nicky finding a skeleton in the walls from the 1500s but has parallel's to Hannah's life. The story moves slowly, gradually revealing more about Hannah and the woman who died in the walls.

Ashton Hall by Lauren Belfer tells the story of Hannah and her son Nicky. They head to England to take care of a sick, elderly uncle. Nicky then finds a skeleton behind an old crumbling wall. The author does an amazing job of telling the research process when such a discovery is made. I felt as though I was involved in the process The library sounded amazing and I would love to visit Ashton Hall. I loved the characters and their development. The novel at the end was brilliant. The ending as to why she was enclosed was a bit anticlimactic. Although I was a bit surprised at Katherine’s involvement. I have read all of this author’s books and loved them all! I will recommend. Thank you for allowing me to review this book.

I only wish I had read this sooner. It is well researched, well written and touches on a number of issues without being contrived. Hannah and her delightful but challenged son, Nicky are planning to spent the summer on an old estate near Cambridge. They have been invited by Hannah’s ailing “uncle”. While there Nicky discovers a secret room containing a skeleton. Hannah works to solve the mystery of the room and it’s occupant while working through her own life issues. There is a lot here for discussion.
This a review of an eGalley provided by NetGalley.

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.

While a bit slow at times, I generally found myself enjoying this book about the role of women now and in the 1500’s. When Hannah’s 9 year old son disobeys the rules and uncovers a hidden room in the ancient manor house they’re staying in, Hannah gets drawn in to the research to solve the mystery that’s unearthed. This all plays out as she needs to decide how to move forward in her life as a wife, the mother to a neurodiverse son, and someone who wants to reclaim her professional goals. Descriptions of Ashton Hall and the surrounding countryside are written with enough detail to take you there, and the characters are interesting. I would have liked a last chapter to
tie up the end of Hannah’s story a bit, the last chapter as written now is a chilling conclusion to the mystery, but I would have liked a glimpse into the future too to see where Hannah and Nicky are in a year or two.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of Ashton Hall.

I really enjoyed the story and the mystery throughout.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

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 really wished I had like this one but it was me, not you Ashton Hall! It helped so much promise but it just didn’t live up to my expectations

Hannah and her 9-year-old son Nicky arrive in the English countryside for a summer visit to Christopher, a beloved elderly uncle, to find that he is returning to New York for medical treatment. Hannah wants to return with him, but he is adamant they remain for Nicky to enjoy the countryside, while Hannah hopes to complete a dissertation on ancient Greek art, set aside for years to care for her highly emotional, unpredictable, inquisitive and intelligent son. She and her lawyer husband cherish their son, but just before they leave, she finds the family life together may be in jeopardy.
The 1600 manor house is a wonder for Nicky to explore, and he quickly comes across a skeleton, found deep in the undiscovered rooms, and becomes part of the team uncovering its secrets.
As they dig into and share with professors, graduate students, archaeologists, librarians,and manor residents, there are finds of manuscripts and artifacts detailing a long ago life at Ashton Hall.
As Hannah begins examining her life in terms of what she sees and feels, she begins to imagine the rest of her life, re-examining what she needs and wishes for the future.
Ashton Hall is a sharp, historically immersive narrative, with emotionally and beautifully chosen words, re-creating the universe of the lives of those in centuries past. It brings us to awareness of how we choose to live life, what we bring to it, and how we will leave it for others.
This is a book every lover of historical fiction, books and libraries, and the English countryside and its treasures, should consider as an invitation to a deep dive into a rich, often hidden history.
“What proof do we leave of our existence?”
(Don’t overlook Lauren Belford’s exceptional Author’s Note, Recreating the Past in Ashton Hall, with references to her research methods and many books and articles.)

Lovely mix of contemporary and historical. The main character’s journey is contrasted with experiences of women in the 1500s on such a subtle way with the use of historical documents and artwork that there’s time to think and appreciate what they must have faced and how many choices we have now. All of this is set in a grand manor house and surrounding village and countryside with distinctive characters. I loved the little mystery that ran through the book and the way it’s tied up at the end.

Belfer’s (And After the Fire, 2016) first fully contemporary work may seem a departure for the acclaimed historical novelist, but she hasn’t left the past behind. Her exquisitely illuminated story offers the vicarious indulgence of a stay at an English country house combined with an Elizabethan-era mystery and a meditation on women’s age-old struggles between independence and motherhood. Circumstances involving a beloved, ill relative bring American Hannah Larson and her neurodivergent nine-year-old son, Nicky, to Ashton Hall, near Cambridge. Exploring the manor’s long-abandoned upper floors, Nicky discovers a woman’s skeleton. She had been sealed into her room, alongside a prie-dieu or prayer desk, books, and other comforts. Was she imprisoned, or had she lived there willingly? This isn’t a standard Gothic tale of suspense; there are no supernatural elements. But this mystery does haunt Hannah. While contemplating her husband’s infidelity and her lack of financial autonomy and grappling with Nicky’s difficult behavior, Hannah reassembles the woman’s life and times via centuries-old letters, household accounts, and library records with the help of new friends. Belfer shows how history is a tangibly close presence.
(Published in Booklist, 5/1/2022 issue)

My thanks to Net Galley and Ballantine for this advanced copy..

Hannah and her son Nicky go to visit a large Gothic House in Cambridge and find the skeletal remains of a body in a part of the house which leads Hannah to investigate the identity of various ledgers which takes her back to the 1550s which goes into other womens themes.

I liked the book but it was a bit slow for me.

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.

#AshtonHall #NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher of this novel for the E-Arc copy. I am rating this book based on my own personal opinion and was not given anything in return. I am not leaving a entire review because I read so many at a time that I physically cannot right now.

I made it about 50% of the way through the book and I just couldn't bring myself to keep going. It just didn't grab my attention like I hoped it was going to. The characters, their struggles, and the "mystery" they encounter in Ashton Hall, nothing was all that great through my eyes.
I can say that even though I didn't enjoy the story, the author wrote beautifully and detailed enough to be able to picture the landscape and surroundings.

Ashton Hall by Lauren Belfer is the first book that I have read by the author but it won't be the last.
The story has a gothic feel to it that I greatly enjoyed and layered so many different elements that it is difficult to even know where to begin--
Hannah and her son Nicky who is neurodiverse arrive at Ashton Hall to visit her long-time friend and "family" member Christopher and soon are pulled into a mystery that goes back to the 1500s and layers over themes of marriage, parenting, and women's equality and rolls in society. The story moves at a fast pace and is constantly entertaining. I recommend it highly.
Thank you to #netgalley, #randomhouse-ballentine, and #laurenbelfer for the AR copy of Ashton Hall.

Ashton Hall drew me in from the opening pages.Historical fiction at its best a new genre for the author with a haunting mysterious atmosphere.A book Inwill be recommending.#netgalley #randomhouse.

Thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine for the opportunity to read and review this title prior to publication.

I've never read this author before, but I was intrigued by the book's cover and description. Hannah and her neurodiverse son, Nicky, move for the summer to Cambridge to care for an aging relative living in a historic manor house. A discovery is made at Ashton Hall by Nicky, which sets up the mystery for the rest of the novel. This is a slow-burn mystery with some gothic, atmospheric vibes, and while the mystery involves the Tudor time period, the book is set in present day. I loved the exploration of women's lives in the Tudor period to present, being normal, libraries, academia, art history, literature, and motherhood. The research was obviously well done, and the writing itself is beautiful. The author references Jane Eyre and Middlemarch quite a bit, and I think Ashton Hall is a perfect blend of those two classics. I'm really interested in checking out her other books now!

**I received aneGalley of this title from NetGalley. Thank you to Ballantine Books and Random House Publishers for my advanced copy.**

When her uncle falls terminally ill, Hannah Larson brings her son to Cambridge to care for him for the summer. Her uncle, Christopher, lives in an apartment in a large country estate called Ashton Hall. Part of the old house is now apartments and part of the house is a museum relating to the history of the estate and its former family (the Creshams who died out in WWI.) It turns out parts of the house were totally unexplored and Hannah's son Nicky discovers a section of the house from the 1500s and human remains in one of the rooms. Over this summer of self-discovery, Hannah learns who she is as a mother, a wife, and a scholar, all as she searches for the identity of the woman who died in Ashton Hall.

I tore through this book in a day. I really appreciated that this book was told in only one timeline. I often read historical fiction books that flash between the past and present. You really got the historical aspect through the research Hannah helped conduct. It was definitely a different take on weaving a historical plot line with a modern one. I was also interested and hugely invested in how Hannah and Micky's future would play out. His autism and Tourette's plus violent outbursts often had my heart racing and breaking at the same time. All the characters are well crafted and leave you surprised at time.

I'd recommend this to readers of Kate Morten and Jojo Moyes.