Husbands & Lovers

Husbands & Lovers (2024) is the 20th novel by Beatriz Williams, an American writer of historical fiction. It was a Book of the Month Club main selection, a TODAY Show pick for “Best Beach Read,” and a LibraryReads Hall of Fame selection. The novel follows Mallory Dunne, a woman who became pregnant at a young age and chose to raise her son alone rather than tell his now-famous father of the boy’s existence. It also tells the story of Hannah Ainsworth, a Hungarian Jewish woman living in Egypt during the politically tumultuous 1950s. She becomes pregnant during an extramarital affair and is forced to give the child up for adoption. The women are connected by family ties as well as by a mysterious cobra bracelet Hannah’s lover gave to her, which she passed down to her daughter. The novel explores The Power of Maternal Love, Female Perseverance and Strength, and The Deceptiveness of Appearances.

This guide refers to the first Random House Large Print edition, 2024.

Content Warning: The source material and this guide discuss antisemitism, racism, abuse, rape, and child loss. Racist language is repeated only within quotation marks in this guide.

Plot Summary

Mallory Dunne’s 10-year-old son, Sam, ingests a death cap mushroom at camp, resulting in kidney failure. Mallory rushes to the hospital while wearing a gold bracelet, shaped like a cobra, that she inherited from her mother who died 18 months ago.

In 1951, Hannah Ainsworth, the wife of a British diplomat, is bitten by a cobra outside her hotel. The assistant manager, Lucien Beck, finds her in time and rushes her to the hospital.

In the present day, nearly three years after Sam eats the mushroom, Mallory and Sam visit Mallory’s sister, Paige, and her family. Paige and Mallory discuss Sam’s kidney failure, and Paige encourages Mallory to contact Sam’s birth father, Monk Adams, to see if he’s a tissue match. Monk and Mallory met in school and had a brief romantic relationship one summer, and she became pregnant. Monk, now a world-famous musician, does not know about Sam. Paige doesn’t understand why Mallory refuses to contact him or why she never talks about her reason for breaking it off. Though Mallory tried to keep Sam’s father’s identity a secret, Sam looks just like him and knows that Monk is his father. Paige recently learned that their mother was adopted in June 1952 from a Catholic convent in Ireland. She also learned that their maternal grandmother was 34 and married, unlike most unwed mothers who gave up children during that time.

In 1951, Hannah gets home from the hospital, recovered from her snake bite, and recalls how she and her second husband, Alistair, moved to Egypt for his health. They’ve been in Egypt for five weeks, and Hannah feels the tension between the affluent English and the poorer, disenfranchised Egyptians. She met Lucien Beck a month ago at Shepheard’s, the hotel he manages, and now she visits his office. He kisses her scar, suggesting that he was nearby when she was bitten because he loves her. Lucien offers to take her to see the pyramids, and she accepts.

In the present day, Mallory recalls seeing Monk’s engagement announcement in the newspaper. His fiancée is Lennox Lassiter, an Instagram-famous lifestyle influencer. Paige wants to send her and Mallory’s DNA for testing, to see if they can find any relatives who might be a good kidney match for Sam and learn more about their ancestry.

In September 1951, Hannah recalls meeting Alistair in a displaced persons’ camp in Austria, where she worked as a translator. She craved security, so she accepted his marriage proposal. At the pyramids, Lucien kisses her, and she thinks of her first husband, Jànos. She recalls her wedding night with Alistair, noting the smaller pyramids that honor the pharaoh’s faithful wives. She knows she has a choice: to continue like a stone monument to fidelity or to live again in “mortal sin.”

In May 2008, Mallory traveled to Winthrop Island to work as a nanny for Monk’s half-siblings. She had always had feelings for Monk, but he sent mixed signals, so she started dating Dillon Rooney. Mallory met Becca, Monk’s stepmom, the kids, and the housekeeper, Grace. Monk took her to Mo’s pub, where he performed, then kissed her goodbye. In June 2022, Mallory, Sam, Paige, and her kids visit Lola Peabody, an old school friend of Paige’s who lives on Winthrop Island. Lola takes them to Mo’s, and the owner remembers Mallory. Later, Mallory goes for a walk on the beach and runs into Monk, who is stunned to see her.

In October 1951, Lucien drives the Ainsworths and Beverleys to see the Suez Canal, eager to keep Hannah safe. Lillian Beverley sees how Lucien looks at Hannah and warns her that he has romanced other diplomats’ wives. Alistair gets into an altercation with an Egyptian man, insulting him and using racist epithets; when the man approaches the group, Alistair grabs the pistol from Hannah’s purse and shoots him.

In June 2008, Mallory and Monk discussed his father, with whom he did not get along, and how his father wanted him to go to law school and give up music. Monk told Mallory that his anger at his dad and sadness about a girl fueled his songwriting. Mallory told him that these weeks had been her happiest, and he kissed her. Now, in, June 2022, Monk invites Mallory to his place to talk, but she declines. Paige and Sam arrive, and Monk realizes that he is the boy’s father. He staggers away, promising Sam that he’ll be in touch. The next day, Monk texts Lola to get Mallory’s number.

In October 1951, Alistair claims that he shot in self-defense, and everyone in the car—except him—realizes that his actions could start a war. That night, at the hotel, Lucien confesses his love for Hannah. She recalls her wedding night with Jànos and thinks about how he and their children are dead now. She then goes to Lucien’s rooms. She tells him that she wants a child, and they sleep together.

In August 2008, Monk and Mallory had unprotected sex. She broke up with Dillon. Now in 2022, Mallory tells Monk about Sam’s kidneys, and Sam and Monk begin texting. She asks a friend, who does appraisals, what he can tell her about the cobra bracelet. He thinks that it’s from Egypt, made in the 1930s, and promises to dig around. Monk presents her with a paternity agreement, establishing child support and visitation, pending a DNA test. He is ready to donate a kidney, too. Mallory lets Sam stay with Monk for the July 4 weekend, so she and Paige take a quick trip to Ireland.

In December 1951, Alistair goes to Rome, so Hannah and Lucien travel to Alexandria. They are lovers, but she withholds her feelings and memories from him. Hannah meets Lucien’s mother, whose Jewish family was forced out of Spain during the Inquisition. Lucien asks what Alistair is doing in Rome, and Hannah offers to find out for him. She recalls life with Jànos, their son and daughter, and learning to shoot a gun. Back in Cairo, Hannah asks Alistair about his trip.

In August 2008, Becca wanted to fire Mallory, but Mr. Adams wouldn’t do it. One night, he offered Mallory a joint and told her to think of him as a godfather or protector. She and Monk had unprotected sex again, and he asked her to go away with him before they returned to their respective colleges. They agreed to leave in one week. In July 2022, Mallory and Paige go to the Irish convent where their mother was born. They learn of Hannah Ainsworth, and the Mother Superior remembers Mallory’s cobra bracelet. She says that Hannah did not want to give the baby up and was picked up by a woman the day before her husband came to retrieve her.

In January 1952, Hannah remembers when Jànos returned from fighting, though she assumed that he was dead. Hannah told him that their children died of typhoid. Now, she is pregnant with Lucien’s baby, and the unrest in Egypt grows. Lucien tells her that Egypt is no longer safe for her.

In July 2022, Paige learns that her husband had an affair, impregnating his mistress, and Paige, Mallory, and their kids move in with Monk for privacy. Lennox arrives, encouraging Mallory to think of her as a sister. Paige hates Lennox. When she gets her DNA results back, she informs Mallory that they are one-quarter Jewish.

In January 1952, Hannah arrives at her apartment and finds a small package containing the cobra bracelet. She tells Alistair that she’s pregnant, but he knows that she’s sleeping with Lucien, whom he’s had investigated. He tells her that Lucien has “a drop” of Jewish blood and is an Israeli intelligence agent, which disgusts Alistair. Hannah remembers getting pregnant one year after Jànos’s return. Jànos knew that he’d have to go back to the front but believed that Hannah would be safe. Now, Hannah rushes to Lucien’s rooms to warn him that Alistair knows that he is an intelligence agent, but he is gone. She falls asleep and wakes up when he returns to say goodbye, and she realizes that he’s been honest with her while she withheld everything from him. She describes how the Soviets beat her, shot Jànos, burned their home, and stole their baby, Kàroly. Then she joined the Hungarian resistance and was eventually captured and tortured by the Soviets. Now, she forces Lucien to leave.

In July 2022, Mallory tells Lennox off for yelling at Grace. Paige, Mallory, and their kids return to Lola’s. Grace quits after the scene with Lennox, and Paige realizes that Mallory still loves Monk. The next morning, Mallory learns that Sam has a kidney donor.

In January 1952, Lucien sees to his mother’s safety and returns for Hannah. He finds her, badly wounded, and he dies saving her.

In July 2022, Sam’s surgery is a success, and Mallory learns that her bracelet was originally used to deliver secret messages. When she twists off its tail, she finds a note from Hannah. Mallory gets a call about Monk, who had a heart attack while he was donating his kidney. She and Paige rush to Monk’s hospital, and Paige wants Mallory to tell Monk why she left, giving him closure. Mallory tells him, though he seems unconscious. His father drugged and raped her the night before she and Monk were supposed to leave. A few months later, Monk goes to Mallory’s home, apologizes for his family’s failures, and they get back together. Paige arrives, introducing Hannah to Kàroly, Hannah’s youngest son and their uncle.