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The Ashford Affair

by Lauren Willig (Goodreads Author)

3.83 of 5 stars 3.83 · rating details · 877 ratings · 279 reviews

New York Times bestselling author Lauren Willig "spins a web of lust, power and loss" (Kate Alcott)that is by turns epic and intimate, transporting and page-turning

As a lawyer in a large Manhattan firm, just shy of making partner, Clementine Evans has finally achieved almost everything she’s been working towards—but now she’s not sure it’s enough. Her long hours have led t...more

Hardcover, 358 pages

Published April 9th 2013 by St. Martin's Press (first published April 2013)

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Feb 24, 2013 Lady Danielle aka The Book Huntress rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ww1, parallel-stories, historical-fiction, historical-mystery, arc, adc-reviews, read-by-march-2013, owned-copy, 1920s, 2nd-chance-at-love-together, african-setting, all-things-winter-challenge, 2013-200s-club-challenge

Quite morose in tone, however I was drawn into this family drama of a novel that travels smoothly between the early 20th century and the last decade of that same century. Very emotionally involving, although certain characters were hard to feel sympathy for. Recommended to readers who are interested in the WW1 years and the 1920s.

Reviewed for Affaire de Coeur Magazine in the April issue. http://affairedecoeur.com

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Jan 26, 2013 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars

I'm so glad the days of the sweeping generational saga are back. Downton Abbey and Kate Morton both deserve credit for this, imho, and I couldn't be more pleased; my personal reading tastes have become fashionable at last!

The Ashford Affair is a departure for Lauren Willig in some ways but not in others. While leaving Napoleonic spies behind, she incorporates the same smart dialogue and multiple-time format in her newest book, which follows the lives of two women over 70 years apart who are link...more

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Mar 22, 2013 Tandie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads, historical-fiction, dysfunctional-family

I receiced a free ARC through Goodreads and St. Martin's Press. Thanks!

I've never read anything by Lauren Willig, so I wasn't sure what to expect. By chapter two, I had at least decided that her writing style is excellent. By chapter three, I was fully engaged in both stories & couldn't wait to see how they tied together. My favorite part was the early 1900's story with Bea and Addie. Bea was such a spoiled princess. Right away I knew that I was rooting for Addie. This novel was obviously we...more

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Apr 16, 2013 Hoover Public Library Adult Fiction rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction

Drawing comparisons to Downton Abbey and Out of Africa, The Ashford Affair is a magnificent tale of how one dramatic secret shaped a family for generations. It centers on Clementine, the youngest grandchild in a sprawling family, now a grown-up lawyer in a powerful Manhattan firm, and Addie, the ailing matriarch whom Clem adores and equates with a sense of home and belonging. The novel deftly maneuvers between present day New York City, pre- and post- WWI London, and Kenya in the 1920’s, as Clem...more

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Apr 08, 2013 Christina rated it 5 of 5 stars

In a departure from her Napoleonic spy romances of the Pink Carnation Series, New York Times bestselling author Lauren Willig ventures into new territory with The Ashford Affair. Entwining one generation’s story with that of another, from post-Edwardian British society to modern day Manhattan to a coffee farm in Kenya, the long veiled secrets of a woman are unraveled.

Clementine Evans, a focused, driven law associate on the cusp of making partner in a large Manhattan firm, attends her beloved gra...more In a departure from her Napoleonic spy romances of the Pink Carnation Series, New York Times bestselling author Lauren Willig ventures into new territory with The Ashford Affair. Entwining one generation’s story with that of another, from post-Edwardian British society to modern day Manhattan to a coffee farm in Kenya, the long veiled secrets of a woman are unraveled.

Clementine Evans, a focused, driven law associate on the cusp of making partner in a large Manhattan firm, attends her beloved grandmother Adeleine’s 99th birthday and is accidentally enlightened to a family secret. At 34, Clemmie, feeling like her life is nothing but a 70-plus hour workweek, and a failed engagement, this intrigue becomes more than a distraction to the un-fulfilling, lonely details of her days.

“Clemmie slid the picture back into the drawer. There was another underneath it, a studio portrait of a woman, her head tilted. Her pale hair was crimped in stylized waves around her face and her pale eyes gazed soulfully into the distance. She looked, somehow, strangely familiar, her cheekbones, the shape of her lips, as if Clemmie had seen her somewhere before.” p. 65.

But trying to get any information from her own tight-lipped mother proves difficult. And how is it that her ex-stepbrother knows more about the family histories than she does?

Adeleine Gillecote’s parents die when she is almost six and she grows up as the mouse-brown ward of her aristocratic aunt and uncle at Ashford Park, a grand English country house. Though brought up with her cousins, Addie never overcomes the status of a poor relation. Despite this, her best friend from almost the start is her vivacious, beautiful, golden cousin, Bea, who takes Addie under her wing, sheltering Addie from her unwelcoming mother, and earning her love and fidelity. As the girls grow and experience the pre-WWI balls and English society, Addie tries not to begrudge Bea’s beauty or her unaffected graces. But when a man comes between the two, it appears all loyalties come to an end, and, escaping to Kenya still isn’t quite far enough. “Addie pressed her fist to her lips, trying not to think what she was thinking. She closed her eyes, fighting a terrible certainty, the certainty that what she was hearing was true, that this was Bea, that Bea had, did, and always would do what she liked, regardless of the consequences, regardless even of Addie.” p. 196.

Although this latest offering is a non-Pink novel, fans of Willig’s the Pink Carnation Series will be giddy with delight when they meet the handsome, cynical and witty descendant of Lord Vaughn. Yes! That Vaughn from The Masque of the Black Tulip.

“He looked feline himself, all boneless grace, with the measureless self-satisfaction afforded by knowing his ancestors had been dining off gold plate when others had still been scratching about in the dirt: the Honorable Theophilius Vaughn, the despair of the ancient line. According to his frustrated family, he had both the morals of a cat and all of its nine lives.” p. 248.

“The spawn of Vaughn.” Ha!! Her words from her website, not mine!

Some have described this novel as Out of Africa meets Downton Abbey. *sigh* Well, use those cinematic visuals if you must, but I can honestly attest, The Ashford Affair is so much more. Much more. This is the kind of the novel that will stay with you; keep you mulling over the vibrant characters and intrinsic detailing long after you’ve inhaled that satisfying last page. Lauren Willig’s The Ashford Affair is brilliant! Glittering brilliance. (less)

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Apr 05, 2013 Jacqie rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved the story, but didn't particularly care for either of the two main characters. Four and a half stars really, because of that, but I don't want to tank the book's rating.

Clemmie's a high-powered lawyer, naturally tall, blond and beautiful, who has given up her entire life to get ahead in her career. At the age of 34 she's still pining over the boy she liked in college and hasn't gotten over the fact that he didn't call her the day after.

Addie is the poor relation of an extremely high-powe...more

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Mar 27, 2013 Nancy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Family Secrets and an Unforgettable Love Story

Clementime Evans puts in an appearance at her grandmother Addie's, ninety-ninth birthday. She's been working long hours expecting to make partner in a large Manhattan law firm, but the effort has taken it's toll. She's dealing with a broken engagement and other evidence that her life is falling apart. Seeing her grandmother reminds her of the extraordinary love affair between her grandparents, but even there she finds something disturbing when a gues...more

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Mar 18, 2013 TAMMY CUEVAS rated it 5 of 5 stars

Even the best of families harbor secrets. When Clementine attends her grandmother Addie's ninety-ninth birthday, she gets a hint of a long-buried family secret, and she won't rest until she unravels the mystery.

Addie's story begins when, at a young age, she is taken to Ashford Park to be raised by her uncle and his wife. She never feels as though she completely belongs, but her close relationship with her cousin Bea sustains her. As an adult, Bea commits an act that will test their relationship...more

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Mar 14, 2013 Jenifer (JensCorner) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Lauren Willig has done it again! Once more, she has mixed wonderful characters with an intriguing plot. The end result is a story that keeps you coming back for more.

Clemmie has wonderful and loving memories of her Granny Addie. But her death brings news Clemmie wasn't prepared for. Suddenly, all isn't what it appeared to be. She now must find the answers she needs.

While Clemmie sorts out her life and the news that changes it, the story of Addie is played out for you. The young girl sent to liv...more

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Mar 13, 2013 Jennifer rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-challenge

The Ashford Affair was an EXCELLENT book! I was thoroughly entranced by it from beginning to end.

When I first started reading it I loved reading how we started with Addie traveling to Africa and the things she went through on her journey, as well as how she felt when she first saw the landscape for the first time. Then our curiosity is aroused when we read her reaction to her cousins husband, I wondered after having read of how Bea looked and acted if she had somehow stolen Frederick from Addie...more

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Feb 12, 2013 Ionia rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Ashford Affair by Lauren Willig would be a perfect book club selection. The complex plot and story told in this novel would give people hours of topics worth discussing.

This narrative was intriguing and at times a little heart-wrenching. The author has done an exemplary job of bringing her characters from the pages into flesh and blood for her readers. I was impressed by the depth of the people in this book and the way their story produced emotion in me. I love it when you read a book and y...more

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Sep 29, 2012 Emily Crowe rated it 2 of 5 stars

Sadly, this wasn't the book for me. It was just good enough to finish reading at night when I was tired from work but not ready to go to bed. Admittedly, I had high hopes when it was described as Out of Africa meets Downton Abbey, and really, it reminded me of neither.

The story weaves back & forth between Addie in the 1920s in England and Kenya (though precious little of Kenya), who is a cast-off cousin of a wealthy aristocratic family, and Clementine (called Clemmie, which is a name that g...more

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May 19, 2013 Joyce rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, historical, romance, sense-of-place, women

Fans of Willig's glorious Pink Carnation series should not start this thinking they'll find that kind of book. It's not. Rather than a swashbuckling tale of romance and intrigue, it's a more measured but equally intriguing story of a complex family puzzle. When Clementine's adored Grandma Addie calls her by an unfamiliar name, Clemmie begins investigating her family's history. There are multiple story lines in multiple, converging time period-Willig handles this really well with fascinating deta...more

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Apr 22, 2013 Khanh rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: uk, wwi, parallel-time, boring-main-character

Interesting story, well-written, but I didn't end the book with much like nor attachment for any of the main characters.

This book spans roughly the early 1900s through the mid 1920s in England and Kenya, and runs parallel to 1999 London and New York.

In 1906, six year old Addie's parents died. Her father was the son of an Earl, and her mother a writer of novels, which rendered them persona-non-grata in their circles. Addie is then brought to live, as a poor relation, with her uncle's family, at t...more Interesting story, well-written, but I didn't end the book with much like nor attachment for any of the main characters.

This book spans roughly the early 1900s through the mid 1920s in England and Kenya, and runs parallel to 1999 London and New York.

In 1906, six year old Addie's parents died. Her father was the son of an Earl, and her mother a writer of novels, which rendered them persona-non-grata in their circles. Addie is then brought to live, as a poor relation, with her uncle's family, at their family seat. The lonely, scared, and unwanted Addie is befriended by the bright and lovely Bea. Addie continues her life with the family as the unwanted poor relation, and shadows Bea throughout their early lives, but the two maintained a close relationship. The willful Bea breaks off her loveless marriage to a marquess to run away with her lover Frederick (who had previously been seeing Addie) to Kenya. It is in Kenya where things unfold that would change their lives and that of their descendants, including that of present-day Clementine.

Clementine is a stereotypical modern woman, working a thankless job as a lawyer and with a failed love life. Her story in this book begins with an invitation to the 99th birthday party of her ailing grandmother Addie (the aforementioned). She is unsatisfied with her life, and an encounter with a stepcousin hints at a rekindled romance. Tensions gather at her grandmother's party, and resentful old aunt Anna (I really find it hard to imagine a whiny, spoilt 70 year old, but there you have it) reveals some family skeletons that nobody discusses.

I felt that, with the exception of Addie, the characters were mostly one-dimensional. Bea is the willful, spoilt debutante to a tee, and Clemmie is too much chick-lit protagonist to have an actual personality of her own. Also, for a rational lawyer nearing her middle age, she reacts like a horrified teenager to one little family secret that, in my opinion, isn't even that big. No spoilers here, since we know this as the reader, but Addie turns out not to be her grandmother. She has been there for Clementine her entire life, and has been a mother, if not the biological one, for her mother and aunt all of their lives. It therefore makes little sense that the grown Clemmie would act like this is such a huge heartbreaking betrayal that this is kept from her.

There are also some holes in the plot that I felt could have been fleshed out, with Bea's story after Kenya. With our omniscient view as reader, and with all that we know, it doesn't make sense to leave such big gaping plot holes.(less)

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Mar 26, 2013 Kathy Martin rated it 5 of 5 stars

What an amazing story! I was swept into reading about the lives of two women—grandmother and granddaughter—told in parallel in this sweeping epoch. This is a story with life-changing secrets but, ultimately, lasting love.

Clemmie Evans is a workaholic lawyer whose concentration on her job and her desire to make partner have cost her a fiancé and contact with her family. She was raised by her mother and her grandmother and grandfather after her parents divorced. She has two older brothers who were...more What an amazing story! I was swept into reading about the lives of two women—grandmother and granddaughter—told in parallel in this sweeping epoch. This is a story with life-changing secrets but, ultimately, lasting love.

Clemmie Evans is a workaholic lawyer whose concentration on her job and her desire to make partner have cost her a fiancé and contact with her family. She was raised by her mother and her grandmother and grandfather after her parents divorced. She has two older brothers who were adult and married before she was born. Her childhood was spent with her Granny Addie and her mother. Her grandmother was her role model in many ways. She had a loving, successful marriage and she and her husband had built a large, successful business on their Kenyan coffee plantation.

When she comes to her beloved Granny Addie's 99th birthday party (an hour late because of work), she is surprised to see how feeble she is. She also runs into Jon Schwartz.

Jon was one of her Aunt Anna's step-children from one of her many marriages. The two met when they were young children and had a childhood rivalry about just about everything. But when they met in Rome, when Clemmie was 21, things changed and the rivalry turned into a quick romance. However, nothing came of it then, Clemmie went off to law school and into her hectic working life and Jon went on the graduate school and marriage to Caitlin. Now Jon is back in New York and in the middle of a divorce.

Clemmie has to go to London on some legal business but is called home when her grandmother dies. She learns that Granny Addie was not her grandmother but was her grandfather's second wife. There are all sorts of secrets that have been kept from her. Her world is rocked and then rocked again when she is denied a partnership in the firm by a petty superior. She becomes determined to find out about her grandmother. Jon, being a historian of modern British history, knew about Addie's secret but hadn't told Clemmie either which was still another thing that upsets her equilibrium.

The parallel story is that of Addie. Addie is orphaned as a small child and taken in by her father's aristocratic brother and his wife. She is brought to Ashford and dumped in the nursery with the three daughters of the house. The middle daughter and the one nearest in age to Addie—Bea—befriends her. They become closer than sisters even though they aren't very much alike. Bea is a social butterfly who will be the Debutante of the Decade; Addie is the poor orphaned cousin. Bea will marry a Marquess because he is the best catch of the season; Addie will become friends with Frederick who is back from World War I and looking for a way to block the horrible memories that came home with him.

Bea and Addie's friendship is almost irretrievably broken when Bea and Frederick have an affair and Bea becomes pregnant. The Marquess, who has been busy having affairs of his own, divorces Bea. In the middle of a major scandal in which Bea's family disowns her and tosses Addie into the street, Bea and Frederick marry and leave England for Kenya and a coffee plantation.

Addie manages to find a job and start to rebuild her life. Time passes. When Bea sends a letter telling Addie that she needs her, Addie travels to Kenya. When she arrives she finds that Bea and Frederick are at odds. Frederick is happy running his coffee plantation and raising their two girls but Bea is unhappy and discontented. She is drinking too much, partying too much, and having too many affairs. Worst of all, Addie and Frederick fall back in love despite Addie's best intentions. Frederick is more than willing to divorce Bea so that he and Addie can be together. Before he can, though, the group goes on safari and Bea disappears. Did she run off? Was she murdered by her husband or one of her lovers? Was she killed by animals?

Both story-lines were filled with real, well-rounded people who were easy to care about. The writing was engaging. I enjoyed seeing England at the time when so many social standards were changing. I could feel for Bea caught between the mores of her aristocratic past and the realities of the roaring twenties and the aftermath of World War I even though I really didn't like her careless and self-centered actions. I could also identify with Clemmie's sense of betrayal that her beloved grandmother or her mother and aunt had never told her about the tangled past they had lived.

Readers of family stories and historical fiction will find a lot to enjoy in this title. I recommend it.(less)

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Feb 12, 2013 Ami rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, historical, romance

Recently, I was lucky enough to receive a box full of advanced copy books from a local book store and this was included with them. It was among the first I chose to read because the premise intrigued me and "Out of Africa" and "Downton Abby" caught my attention right off.

I did enjoy the story, but there really wasn't as much as Africa as I expected. And there wasn't enough background story! I wanted to know more about Addie, but we really didn't see much of her at all; not really. So much was g...more

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Feb 15, 2013 Mskchick rated it 5 of 5 stars

I won this book as a Goodreads First Reads giveaway. I was very surprised when I started reading it. I hadn't paid attention to the early reviews for it, I just new I wanted to read it because it's a Lauren Willig book. I was expecting something comedic and Victorian, like her Pink Carnation books (which I love). This book was nothing at all like the others by her, but I loved it just the same! I have to say, after I read Ashford Affair, I read a blurb that said this book is like Downtown Abbey...more I won this book as a Goodreads First Reads giveaway. I was very surprised when I started reading it. I hadn't paid attention to the early reviews for it, I just new I wanted to read it because it's a Lauren Willig book. I was expecting something comedic and Victorian, like her Pink Carnation books (which I love). This book was nothing at all like the others by her, but I loved it just the same! I have to say, after I read Ashford Affair, I read a blurb that said this book is like Downtown Abbey meets Out of Africa. I've never seen either.

I hate spoilery reviews, so I am going to be fairly vague in this review so as to not ruin it for someone who wants to be surprised.

Like her Pink Carnation books, this story alternates between current time and 1920s, both England and Kenya. The flipping back and forth between the time periods was very smooth and deft (I just finished Poison Princess by Kresley Cole, where the changes in time and setting served to yank me out of the story rather than progressing it, which highlights to me Willig's successful writing of the time changes). There is a love story in the current time and a love story in the prior time, but the current-times love story does not resolve until the end of the book. I don't want to give too much information and spoil this current love interest for the reader who goes into the book not knowing, as I wasn't sure who she would end up with. The HEA between the main romantic characters from the 1920's is known immediately, but the backstory from the 20's is very slowly revealed. I took great pleasure in the many twists and turns in the backstory. There is a surprise twist to me at the end regarding the characters from Kenya in the 20's, which is like a cherry on the top of this book sundae.

I found myself disliking Bea greatly. While Willig made me understand WHY she was acting as she was, I found her abhorrent, and wanted bad things to happen to her. I was worried that these bad things would rub off onto others around her, though, which kept me biting my nails. There were several other very unsympathetic characters from Kenya that I also hoped would reap the consequences of their actions. Willig uses these characters more as foils, I think, and ultimately we don't know what happens to them.

I am recommending this book to my sister-in-law, whom I am careful to recommend only my best finds to. So that tells you how much I liked this book. GO BUY IT! You won't be sorry.
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Jan 26, 2013 Ashley Arthur rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

I won a copy of this book from a Goodreads giveaway listed by Sarah Goldstein of St. Martin’s Press. I could not have been more excited. I am a big fan of Lauren Willig’s “Pink Carnation” series, and I have been looking forward to seeing how Lauren would write on a topic that wasn’t Napoleonic spies.

I was hugely impressed. Lauren’s story spans about a hundred years of one family’s history, with settings in post-WWI England, 1920s Kenya, and modern day NYC. The modern-day heroine, Clementine Evan...more I won a copy of this book from a Goodreads giveaway listed by Sarah Goldstein of St. Martin’s Press. I could not have been more excited. I am a big fan of Lauren Willig’s “Pink Carnation” series, and I have been looking forward to seeing how Lauren would write on a topic that wasn’t Napoleonic spies.

I was hugely impressed. Lauren’s story spans about a hundred years of one family’s history, with settings in post-WWI England, 1920s Kenya, and modern day NYC. The modern-day heroine, Clementine Evans, is an associate in a law firm and trying desperately to make partner. She has put the majority of her life on hold for her job, and all she has to show for it is a broken engagement and the realization that her beloved Granny Addie is 99 years old and looking it. When Granny Addie mistakenly refers to Clemmie as “Bea,” Clemmie realizes there are a lot of things she doesn’t know about her own family’s history, and she decides to do some digging.

Lauren’s flashbacks to England and Kenya are great. I loved the way she described the feel of England entering the jazz age – one generation trying hard to pretend nothing has changed while a younger generation pushes fearlessly into new music, fashions and modes of entertainment. I enjoyed reading about the various challenges of trying to start a coffee farm in Kenya. Lauren describes this book as more of a “Kate Morton” style of story than her previous books, and I agree with that. Along the way, as we slip back and forth between time periods, there are hints dropped and discoveries made that add to up a surprising, very satisfying conclusion.

I thought this book was great for several reasons. First, my grandmother passed away six months ago, so I identified strongly with Clemmie’s realization that time has slipped away, and there are countless things she wants to know about Granny Addie that she never thought to ask. Also, I have always liked the style of story where a family secret stretches over generations and enough clues remain for one person to piece the truth together. Lauren did a great job with this. Fans of Lauren’s earlier work will enjoy a hat-tip to her “Pink” readers – one of characters we meet in Kenya is a descendant of Lord Vaughn and Mary Alsworthy from the “Pink” series.

I have really enjoyed all of Lauren’s books, and it’s nice to know she won’t be riding off into the sunset when she brings the “Pink” series to a close. I look forward to seeing what she will do next!(less)

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Apr 14, 2013 Shelley Fearn rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: for-women, romance

I would have liked to give this more than 3 stars but I won't. I liked the novel mainly because I liked the time in which it was partly set, the decade following World War I. I also thank the author for not writing a predictable plot line. The love stories, while intertwined, were written with some thought. I appreciate that. However, while entertaining, the novel lacked the character development found in books by authors like Kate Morton. The Ashord Affair is a diversion and an enjoyable one bu...more

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Apr 12, 2013 Meghan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-the-year-of-epic-fantasy, romance

I love Lauren Willig, and I really enjoyed this stand-alone book. When I read reviews of this book, I remember reading someone's thought that they were glad that the era of the sweeping family epic is back. As sweeping family epics go, this is definitely one of the better ones. I was fairly confident in what Granny Addie's "big secret" was from the second chapter on, but I'm pretty sure Willig intended us to know it, and for me the entertainment was in how the story unfolded, not necessarily the...more

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Jan 29, 2013 Warren-Newport Public Library rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, literary-fiction

Many of you know Lauren’s work with the Pink Carnation series and perhaps you’ve had the opportunity to meet her. She has graciously come to the Warren-Newport Public Library twice and discussed her writing style and her works.

Her newest,The Asford Affair, is due out April 2013, is a departure from her series. This stand alone novel is already getting great reviews and I am sure will garner many readers.

At thirty four, Clementine Evans thought she had everything she wanted until a series fo eve...more

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May 20, 2013 Heidi rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book is a definite departure from
Willig's pink carnation series. That's a good thing as her last few entries in that series are hardly entertaining.
There were several things I really liked about this book. I think the two timelines alternating(as is willig's style) played out well in this book. The historical descriptions were accurate and the characters were pretty well developed. The actual story is intriguing. I just wish I could have liked a few of them. The only character I liked was...more

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May 20, 2013 Melody rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, romance

When I first walked into the library seeking my first pile of summer books I was ecstatic to see a new Lauren Willig out. When I realized it was not a Pink Carnation novel I was confused, simply because I didn't know there was another novel in the works. At first I was a little hesitant, but Willig came through. Her voice is delightful as always. The humor and lightness of the Pink Carnation series is still present, but in a different form.

Much like the Pink Carnation series, this novel moves ba...more When I first walked into the library seeking my first pile of summer books I was ecstatic to see a new Lauren Willig out. When I realized it was not a Pink Carnation novel I was confused, simply because I didn't know there was another novel in the works. At first I was a little hesitant, but Willig came through. Her voice is delightful as always. The humor and lightness of the Pink Carnation series is still present, but in a different form.

Much like the Pink Carnation series, this novel moves back and forth through time. However, in the Ashford Affair we are mostly following one family rather than someone doing dissertation research. The parallels of the format hit home a little better in this novel. Switching back and forth between Addie and Clemmie, they are often dealing with similar thematic issues. With Pink Carnation it is generally used a bit more to build suspense, or play with information that has been/is about to be revealed.

I was extremely interested seeing the different sides or interpretations of Addie as seen through the different people in her life. We see a little bit of it with Clemmie’s Aunt Anna. There were many things in the “present” timeline in regards to Addie that were never really explored. For instance, there was a nugget thrown out about something Addie had said to Jon that was never really adequately addressed. Additionally we only got to see her speak in the “present” once, something interesting considering we see so many things from her point-of-view in the past. Of course, the “present” is Clemmie’s rodeo, and much of plot is about her attempting to reconcile this new information with her own portrait of her grandmother.

This idea of learning more about the generations before us, and how steeped in mystery our own family histories can be, is really interesting. This book may have found me at a good time. I have spent the last year pondering my own grandparents, how little I actually know about their lives.

I’m not exactly sure what I’m supposed to walk away with. The book attempts to force Clemmie to look at her life in a completely new way, but I’m not sure what her exact transformation is. Additionally, I’m not clear on Addie. I’m fine with walking away with her as a complicated character. But I’m not really sure what exactly I’m supposed to walk away with period.

It’s a fun ride though. Willig’s voice is smooth and enjoyable as always, making it a pleasure to read. Additionally, anyone that throws in a Stoppard reference is A-OK by me.

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Apr 23, 2013 Sharon rated it 4 of 5 stars

More romance than historical fiction but a good read nonetheless. The story alternates between present day (1999-2001) and the mid 1920's. The prologue gives away one of the big secrets and there aren't any other real surprises in the plot. The 1920's storyline involves Addie who is orphaned and sent to live with her aunt and uncle at Ashford. There she is taken under the wing of her older cousin, Beatrice, who is being groomed to marry well and become titled. The present day storyline belongs t...more

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May 14, 2013 Anne P1 rated it 3 of 5 stars

I expected a lot more from this book, esp after reading all of the glowing reviews.
The story flip flops between two different generations. The grandmother's story begins in England in the early 1900s and moves to Kenya in the 1920s. The grand-daughter's story takes place in 1999-2000, in New York.
I loved the earlier part of the story, the author evoked the sights and sounds of Kenya so beautifully that I could just picture myself there. Unfortunately there wasn't enough of the Kenyan storyline,...more

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Feb 26, 2013 Leah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: i-own, first-reads

Goodreads/St. Martin's Press sent me this book as a first reads giveaway. This is my honest review:

I really enjoyed The Ashford Affair because it was well-written and compelling. I thought that Willig handled her alternating story lines nicely; I especially liked her method of seguing between Addie (past) and Clemmie (present) by using similar cues or scenarios. For example, one Clemmie chapter ends with the line "'I think you should come home'" (152). The subsequent chapter, about Addie, begins...more

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Oct 11, 2012 Christy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: own-it-book

4 stars, mainly because it should have been longer

I found this to be a compulsively readable book that kept me up way too late at night and kept my planter from being weeded the next day. The prologue sucked me in and got me wrapped up in the story, and I think I can safely say that if it doesn't grab you, you probably won't like this book. Lauren Willig's prose flows very smoothly and she spins a fascinating yarn in this book, set in present day America and early 20th century England and Africa...more

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Apr 27, 2013 Amanda rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

I've always been a fan of the family secret type sagas, and found myself drawn to this one for that reason. I enjoyed that the story alternated between the 1920s storyline and the present day, with Clemmie working to understand her grandmother's past.

I found Clemmie to act a bit young for her age. She seemed very self centred at times, but overall, I did find myself rooting for her - to find out her grandmother's secret and to find her romantic counterpart (which was evident very early on). I li...more

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Apr 18, 2013 Courtney Tonokawa rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 20th-century, pink-carnation-willig, time-slip

Just perfect! I think I'm in love with this book even more than the Pink Carnation books (and those are pretty amazing).
I loved the premise, first of all. It really hit home for me, because like Clemmie, i too lost a grandmother whom I was close to, but started to realize I didn't know as much about her as I thought.
And the characterizations were so well done. I like how there wasn't really a "good guy" or "bad guy" in this...everyone was flawed. Even Beatrice, who was a bit of a shrew, is pai...more

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Apr 14, 2013 Julie G rated it 4 of 5 stars

Wow, was all I could think as, with a sigh, I closed the Kindle. What a wonderful story.

It's 1926 and Addie has just arrived in Kenya to visit her cousin, Bea; Bea's husband, Frederick; and their two daughters. Immediately, it's obvious that all is not right between Addie and Bea, or Frederick and Bea. Or Addie and Frederick.

Jump to 1999 and Addie's ninety-ninth birthday. Late, newly unengaged, and frazzled, Clementine is shocked to see how much her Granny Addie has changed. But not as shocked a...more

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About Lauren Willig

Lauren Willig is the New York Times bestselling author of eleven works of historical fiction. Her books have been translated into over a dozen languages, awarded the RITA, Booksellers Best and Golden Leaf awards, and chosen for the American Library Association's annual list of the best genre fiction. After graduating from Yale University, she embarked on a PhD in English History at Harvard before...more

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Books by Lauren Willig

The Secret History of the Pink Carnation (Pink Carnation, #1)

The Masque of the Black Tulip (Pink Carnation, #2)

The Deception of the Emerald Ring (Pink Carnation, #3)

The Seduction of the Crimson Rose (Pink Carnation, #4)

The Temptation of the Night Jasmine (Pink Carnation, #5)

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Quotes from The Ashford Affair

“He admired her for throwing off her aristocratic shackles -- his terms, that -- and making her own way in the world.

He didn't realize that the truth was so much more complex, so much less impressive. She had less thrown than been thrown.” — 2 people liked it

“Her mother would be appalled, but she wouldn't say anything. She would just telegraph her distress with tightened lips and raised brows. She was good at that. Clemmie's mother's brows were better than sign language, complicated concepts conveyed with the minimum of movement.” — 1 person liked it

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