Husbands & Lovers

Williams (The Beach at Summerly) tells the story of two generations of the same family, jumping backward and forward in time between 1951 Cairo and 2022 New England. In 1951, Hannah Ainsworth is living in Egypt with her husband, a successful British diplomat. They are facing a crisis in their marriage against a backdrop of worsening political unrest. Hannah suffered horrible tragedies in the war, and her marriage is one of convenience. She is surprised when she falls in love again with a hotel manager, and they have a passionate affair. In 2022, Mallory Dunne is the single mother of Sam, whose ill health forces Mallory to revisit her painful past with Sam’s father. The connections between Mallory and Hannah are revealed as the story progresses. The narrative is told with wit, suspense, and excitement, taking a surprising turn at the end when the family’s connecting threads are brought together. Narrators Helen Laser and Caroline Hewitt offer convincing performances, conveying humor and personality with their voices. They also supply a range of accents, including American, upper-class British, Irish, and eastern European.