Anne Perry: Ashworth Hall (USA 2011)

From the Publisher:
When a group of powerful Irish Protestants and Catholics gather at a country house to discuss Irish home rule, contention is to be expected. But when the meeting's moderator, government bigwig Ainsley Greville, is found murdered in his bath, negotiations seem doomed. Unless Superintendent Thomas Pitt and his wife, Charlotte, can root out the truth, simmering hatreds and passions may again explode in murder.

Anne Perry: Ashworth Hall. A Charlotte and Thomas Pitt Novel. Ballantine, ISBN: 9780345514219 (October, 2011), 373 p., $15.00.

Anne Perry: Ashworth Hall (UK 1999)

From the Publisher:
The 17th in the popular series of Victorian murder mysteries featuring Thomas and Charlotte Pitt. To all outward appearances, it is yet another exclusive party at the magnificent Ashworth Hall. Select members of Victorian High Society gather for a weekend at the lavish country seat of up-and-coming MP Jack Radley, hosted by his charming wife, Emily. A phalanx of maids, valets, cooks and grooms is at the ready. Also in attendance are Emily's sister Charlotte and her husband, Thomas -- that is to say, Superintendent Pitt of Bow Street. For this is a secret conference on the heated subject of Irish Home Rule, with a team of negotiators finely balanced between Catholic and Protestant, extremist and moderate. The topic is full of urgency since the news of Parnell and Kitty O'Shea is about to emerge from the divorce courts. Beneath the patina of civilized talks lurk resentments and beliefs which give rise to devious acts and complex manipulations. Not all the delegates are convinced that their interests will be best served by peace. Not everyone will live to see the end of the conference...

Anne Perry: Ashworth Hall. A Victorian Murder Mystery. HarperCollins, ISBN: 0006510914 (December, 1999), 416 p., £5.99.

Anne Perry: Ashworth Hall (USA 1998)

From the Publisher:
When a group of powerful Irish Protestants and Catholics gather at a country house to discuss Irish home rule, contention is to be expected. But when the meeting's moderator, government bigwig Ainsley Greville, is found murdered in his bath, negotiations seem doomed. To make matters worse, it appears the late Greville may have led a less than savory personal life.

Unless Thomas Pitt and his wife, Charlotte, can root out the truth, simmering hatreds and passions may again explode in murder, the home rule movement may collapse, and civil war may destroy all of Ireland...

Anne Perry: Ashworth Hall. A Charlotte and Thomas Pitt Novel. Fawcett Books, ISBN: 0449000869 (February, 1998), 373 p., $7.50.

Anne Perry: Ashworth Hall (USA 1997)

From the Publisher:
With every book she writes, Anne Perry, the supreme enchanter among historical novelists, contributes a mesmerizing new chapter to her magical re-creation of Victorian England. Here, she abandons London's cobblestone streets and exclusive drawing rooms for a great country house, Ashworth Hall, where a fateful secret conference is about to begin.

The gathering has the appearance of a smart autumn house party -- stunning womena and powerful men enjoying a few days of leisurely pleasure in a setting of exquisite beauty. In fact, the guests are Irish Protestants and Catholics gathered in a reluctant parley over home rule for Ireland, a problem that has plagued the British Isles since the reign of Elizabeth I. When the meeting's moderator, government bigwig Ainsley Greville, is found murdered in his bath, the negotations seemed doomed.

Superintendent Thomas Pitt of Scotland Yard almost despairs as divorce proceedings involving the great Irish Nationalist leader Charles Stewart Parnell and his mistress, Kitty O'Shea, become an open scandal. To make matters worse, it seems the late Greville himself may have had a less than savory personal life. The surviving guests -- six men and five women -- unleash their true feelings, or perhaps only pretend to do so. Their servants follow suit. Unless Pitt and his clever wife, Charlotte, can root out the truth, simmering passions above and below stairs may again explode in murder, the hopeful home rule movement may collapse, and civil war may destroy Ireland.

Never before has Pitt borne such terrible responsibilities, and never has Charlotte been less able to share them.

Anne Perry: Ashworth Hall. A Novel. Fawcett Columbine, ISBN: 0449908445 (March, 1997), 373 p., $24.00.