Women of Ashdon

Bridges Over Time #3

by Valerie Anand

Married to a man she does not love, Susannah Whitmead, a woman living in the perilous Tudor era, instead falls in love with his house and involves herself in a treasonous plot. By the author of The Proud Villeins.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical, Fiction

608 pages, Paperback

First published June 3, 1993

About the author

Born in London, Valerie Anand knew at the age of six that she wanted to be an author. At the age of fifteen, she saw MGM’s film Ivanhoe. She walked into the cinema knowing that she wanted to be a novelist and walked out of it knowing that historical novels were the kind she most wanted to write.

Over the course of her long and distinguished writing career, Valerie has written many works of historical fiction and is well known for the Ursula Blanchard series of Elizabethan mysteries written under the pen name of Fiona Buckley.

Still living in London, Valerie Anand is a frequent visitor to Exmoor, the setting featured in The House of Lanyon.

Reviews

[Gilda Felt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though the third book in the series, the story can be read as a stand-alone. It’s the same family, but new family members.

The book is actually divided into two story. The first, and my favorite of the two, follows the life of Susannah Whitmead. Intertwined in her story, and that of her husbands’, is the Wars of the Roses. My only complaint is that the story ends just as Susannah finds happiness. Her struggles were interesting, but I would have liked to read a bit more of her life after her struggles end.

I wasn’t as taken by the second story, probably because Christina Trefusis is something of a moron. She makes terrible decisions, decisions that often bring sorrow and regret.

[Misfit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taking up the story of the Whitmead family several generations after the close of The Ruthless Yeomen, Susannah Whitmead is sent to live with the Hurleighs and be educated as a lady by Mistress Agnes, the lady of the house and all time shrew. Susannah brings with her a family keepsake - a device of a curved bridge across a river - which by this time no one in the family is left who remembers the origin of the device and their ancestral roots in Normandy. In love with up and coming but still penniless Giles Saville, Susannah is forced by Agnes to marry Sir James Weston and she comes to live at Ashdon House, a house she comes to love more than anything else in life. Susannah's second marriage takes her to Cornwall, where her husband becomes involved in the protests against the high taxes imposed on the populace by Henry VII along with the plots to replace Henry with the imposter (or is he an imposter??) Perkin Warbeck.

The second half of the book is the story of Susannah's granddaughter Christina during the reigns of Mary and then Elizabeth Tudor. Christina's never ending obsession with Ashdon House makes for an unhappy marriage that gets her exiled by her husband to Cornwall where she falls into the clutches of a catholic cousin - who does her the "favor" of getting her recalled to Ashdon house by arranging a visit by Elizabeth I. Although in years to come during the plots against Elizabeth by Mary Stuart and her supporters force Christina to repay her old debt at a much higher price than she could ever have dreamed of.

So far of the three in this series, I found this one to be the weakest. While I don't expect these books to be fast paced, page turning reads this one really did drag for me at times. The first part of the book deals with Henry VII and as I've recently read two books on him, I found myself in a been-there-done-that spot. As for the second half dealing with the whole Bloody Mary/Elizabeth I/Mary Stuart business I found to be old news -- there have been too many books in recent years on these ladies and I am just Tudor'ed out. And while I enjoyed Susannah's character (especially the bit of the story with Giles), Christina was just not too likeable as a character, although Anand did give her a very appropriate finish at the end in 1606. I'm sorely torn between three stars for a slow story and four for Anand's excellent writing and call it at 3.5/5 rounded up to four.

The series in order,

The Proud Villeins
The Ruthless Yeomen
Women of Ashdon
The Faithful Lovers
The Cherished Wives
The Dowerless Sisters

Some of these books a bit spendy on the used market, but I'm giving my library's ILL program a whirl and see how lucky I am (or how good they are). The first one came from a Benedictine Abbey outside of Salem Oregon, the second from the Eugene, OR public library, book #3 is the only one my library has - let's see how much my luck continues with the last three.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

This historical novel follows two women of the Whitmead family and their relationship with their manor house Ashdon and the political intrigues of their times. The first half of the novel takes place during the War of the Roses and concerns Susannah Whitmead. As a young woman, she falls in love with the young knight Giles Saville, but is instead married off to James Weston instead. He is kind and good and he and Susannah have a good relationship. But it is his house Ashdon Susannah truly comes to love. She manages to hold on to the house through two more marriages and her second husband's involvement in a treasunous plot. The second half of the book follows Christina, Susannah's grand-daughter during the Elizabethan era. Like her grandmother, Christina also makes a marriage of convenience in order to keep Ashdon. However, her marriage is tumultuous, mainly due to her overwhelming passion for the house. She keeps it, but at great cost.
I quite enjoyed this book, especially for the way it focused on the lives of more ordinary people living at some distance from the powerful and from major political events. Anand did a good job of showing how those historical events affected or involved regular people. I also liked the characters a great deal. Susannah was my favorite. She was a very strong, loving woman who earnestly worked for a good life for herself and her family. I felt a ;lot of sympathy for Christina, but found her frustrating. She just could never really understand the people around her or even herself and was also a bit impulsive. The two women are an interesting pair - they both had an attachment to Ashdon, but only one of them properly understood the assignment.

[Ktmholm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did Richard III, Duke of Gloucester, really murder his nephews in the Tower? Was the “Great Pretender” actually the rightful king of England? And what was going on with the Queen?? These were among the questions asked by low-born and nobility alike. One of these people was Susannah Whitmead, sent away to be raised as a lady, and forced to marry a ‘suitable’ man. She comes to love her husband and their home, Ashdon, but Tudor politics got in the way. Her granddaughter, Christina, would do anything to save Ashdon, but is equally ill-fated under the reign of Elizabeth I.
As the serfs of volume 1 have risen in society, the casual reader gets some idea of the turmoil of 15th century life, the religious wars, and the constant battle for the throne. Though perhaps my least-favorite of the series so far--it took me a while to figure out some of the politics--I’m still looking forward to the next books in the series.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. Just the right amount of history and interesting personalities.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I lost the connecting thread between the characters in prior books I certainly enjoyed this one...set during the last years of the Wars of the Roses and the reign of Elizabeth I. One of my favourite periods in British history. Starting the fourth book of the series immediately!

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having loved the first 2 books in the series, I eagerly grabbed this one to continue. I read, however, the first two combined quicker than I did this one! It dragged, was much darker and I just couldn't quite get into it the same. I am willing to accept, however, reading 3 large books back to back may've contributed to this, so will take a break from this series before continuing. Still one of the best series I've read in a long time, just hoping the fourth book grips me a little more!

[Lana Seaver · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good historical fiction series.