The Weeping Ash

Joan Aiken

22 February 2022
9781529093490
304 pages

Synopsis

Two intertwining adventures – one of English drama and one of Indian conflict – both meet at the Paget family home in the second of Joan Aiken’s romantic regency adventures, The Weeping Ash. Perfect for fans of Bridgerton, the romantic drama series from Netflix inspired by Julia Quinn's novels.

Juliana Paget kindly lends The Hermitage Estate to her widowed cousin Thomas and his new wife Fanny – on one condition – that if their missing cousins arrive they must be welcomed in. Little does Juliana know that cousin Thomas is an abusive tyrant who torments his stoic wife, entrapping her in the beautiful Paget house.

Thousands of miles away in India, twin Paget cousins Scylla, governess to the old Maharaja's family, and her poet brother Cal are fleeing for their lives with the orphaned royal heir. They must survive a perilous journey - assisted by the dashing Colonel Cameron - across Kafiristan, Afghanistan, Persia, and Turkey before finally arriving at The Hermitage Estate.

But the adventure does not stop here. A dark and explosive confrontation awaits the Pagets as Aiken's two spirited heroines strive for independence in this thrilling romantic adventure.

Two separate threads join into a triumphant knot in Joan Aiken’s Napoleonic novel . . . very neatly plotted and very entertaining
Joan Aiken combines a sense of the past with the sophistication of a modern novel full of suspense and excitement . . . she provides a full spectrum of colours, incidents, character and thought
Robust, stylishly told, and involving many magnetic characters . . . The Weeping Ash is among the best novels yet from the talented Joan Aiken