Ashton Hall

When a close relative falls ill, Hannah Larson 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.

This discussion guide was shared and sponsored in partnership with Lauren Belfer.

Book club questions for Ashton Hall by Lauren Belfer

Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.

There are a number of themes in this book, including marriage, motherhood, family, sexuality, neurodivergence, and the dependence and independence of women. Which of them resonated the most with you? Are there any other themes or ideas that you see as crucial to this novel?

The novel’s characters are distinctive and diverse. Did you have a favorite character throughout, or a storyline that resonated with you the most?

Neurodivergence plays a large role in the story, through Nicky’s character. How did this character impact you? Why do you think the author decided to create Janet as a second neurodivergent character?

Discuss Hannah’s relationship with Nicky. Did you learn anything from it? Did you identify with their relationship in any way?

What are some of the parallels between Hannah and Isabella Cresham, the woman locked away in Ashton Hall? How does Hannah’s time there and her investigation into Isabella’s life help her process her life changes?

In chapter 3, Mrs. Gardner asks: “How many lives can you imagine yourself living?” This question sticks in Hannah’s head throughout the rest of the book, prompting reflections on her “alternate” life that could have been. Do you ever reflect on the other ways your life could have gone? Do you find it compelling, or stress-inducing?

Discuss the role of money, privilege, and class in Ashton Hall.

What do you think of Hannah’s often humorous observations of British behavior? If you’ve spent time in the U.K., do you think they have the ring of truth?

What do you think of the storyline focused on Hannah’s marriage with Kevin? Do you agree with how Hannah handled the situation with her husband’s infidelity? And what about her relationship with Matthew? Would you have handled either of those situations differently?

Ashton Hall is a contemporary novel, but it does deeply explore a historical era, through Hannah’s investigation into Isabella’s life. What do you think of this dual timeline structure? Are there any storylines touched on in the novel that you wish had been further explored?

How has each of the main characters changed by the end of the novel?

What do you think of the book’s ending? Were you surprised by how events unfolded? What do you think of the final chapter, written by Hannah herself? What would you imagine came next for the characters?

Ashton Hall Book Club Questions PDF

Click here for a printable PDF of the Ashton Hall discussion questions

"Infused with the brooding, gothic atmosphere of Jane Eyre or Rebecca . . . a novel that must be savored, one page at a time.”—Melanie Benjamin, author of The Children’s Blizzard

“Exquisite . . . The way the author has weaved several storylines together is brilliant.”—Mystery and Suspense

“This book has Daphne-Du-Maurier-meets-Kate Morton-vibes and I was THERE FOR ALL OF IT. The setting, the skeleton, the mystery, the lovable characters ... What an addictive read!”—Julie Clark, New York Times bestselling author of The Lies I Tell and The Last Flight

“Belfer’s writing is gorgeous.”—The Jewish Book Council

“Lauren Belfer’s Ashton Hall is masterful, riveting, and atmospheric historical fiction. It made me want to don a velvet cloak, brew a cup of tea, and settle in to watch Hannah and her ingenious son unravel the fascinating, dark, centuries-old secrets of a manor home.”—Alka Joshi, New York Times bestselling author of The Henna Artist

“In Ashton Hall, Lauren Belfer has treated us to a novel infused with the brooding gothic atmosphere of Jane Eyre or Rebecca. And like those classics, this is at its heart a story about a woman’s journey of self-discovery. How does a wife and mother reclaim her dreams when her world is turned upside down? In her quest to learn the identity of a skeleton entombed in the heart of a British manor house, Hannah Larson tries to piece together the puzzle that has become her own life. This is a novel that must be savored, one page at a time.”—Melanie Benjamin, New York Times bestselling author of The Children’s Blizzard

“Belfer’s latest is a brilliant, immersive story about one woman searching for answers after a terrible discovery from centuries earlier. The captivating threads of the plot—an English manor house with secret rooms and a dark past, a mother struggling with her atypical son—are rounded out by a lively cast of locals who had me laughing out loud.”—Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Magnolia Palace

“Belfer explores timeless ideas of family, sacrifice, and female resistance. . . . The labyrinthian portrait she paints of [Ashton Hall] successfully conveys mystery and adventure. . . . For lovers of libraries and Tudor history.”—Library Journal

“A touching story about the themes that resonate through centuries.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Belfer offers a nuanced exploration of the ways women’s lives are constricted. Anglophiles and Tudor history buffs will enjoy this immersive tale.”—Publishers Weekly

“[Belfer’s] 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. . . . Belfer shows how history is a tangibly close presence.”—Booklist

Katie