- Paperback: 624 pages
- Publisher: HarperCollins; New edition edition (5 Nov 2001)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0006514618
- ISBN-13: 978-0006514619
- Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.8 x 4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (64 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 157,730 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Wideacre (Wideacre Trilogy)
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Product Description
Review
‘This is a story of violent love and unsettling passions. It will never let you rest for a page as you wait for the climax that must come for the people and the land’
Maeve Binchy
‘Amid all the social upheaval strides Beatrice Lacey, who, for singlemindedness, tempestuousness, passion, amorality, sensuality and plain old-fashioned evil, knocks Scarlet O’Hara into short cotton socks’
Evening Standard
Product Description
Reissue of Philippa Gregory’s first novel, a tale of passion and intrigue set in the eighteenth century.
Wideacre Hall, set in the heart of the English countryside, is the ancestral home that Beatrice Lacey loves. But as a woman of the eighteenth century she has no right of inheritance. Corrupted by a world that mistreats women, she sets out to corrupt others. Sexual and wilful, she believes that the only way to achieve control over Wideacre is through a series of horrible crimes, and no-one escapes the consequences of her need to possess the land.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
44 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Historical, yes, but don't expect romance,
By Star_Sea "Xing" (Salisbury, England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Wideacre (Wideacre Trilogy 1) (Paperback)
"Wideacre" is the first book in the Wideacre trilogy, which follows the fortunes of the Lacey family throughout the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. The titles of the books foretell the obssessions of the protagonists: in this case, the obssession is the estate of Wideacre in the title.Beatrice Lacey is desperately in love with the Wideacre estate which belongs to her family, but as a female in the eighteenth century, she cannot inherit. Despite the fact she knows the land better than anyone, she must watch the estate go to her brother Harry, who has no idea how to run it. The realisation of this prompts Beatrice to start a desperate quest to secure her place on the land, no matter what. At first, everything goes according to plan: she becomes almost a goddess on Wideacre (Beatrice means 'she who blesses'), gets married to a man who understands her and seems to have everything. But secrets from her past start to surface, and Beatrice becomes more and more desperate, taking and taking until the estate is on the verge of ruin. Her joy in life (food and sex), in Wideacre and in horses disappears, and there is nothing left. It's interesting to watch the other characters change and grow with Beatrice. Her brother goes from a gifted young boy to a portly, boorish squire; Celia, his wife, matures from a wallflower into a pious, determined, brave young woman, the angel to Beatrice's devil; and John, Beatrice's husband, goes through hell and back. Beatrice, however, is different. "If that was the way of the world, then the world would have to change. I would never change." She makes this vow at five years old, but she sticks to it. However, one of the themes of the novel is adaptation. If you do not adapt, then eventually you must die in some way or another: this happens to her father, her first love, her mother, and eventually to Beatrice and Harry. At the ending, the air is cleansed, but you can see that it's not over yet. The language in this novel is sometimes lyrical and sometimes crude. Beatrice is a compelling character, but difficult to like. There are many themes in this book: what women must do in a man's world to survive; paganism and Christianity; body and mind. It's a powerful read, very sensuous and full of life, but not for the faint-hearted.
30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant!,
By Sarah Nately "Sarah" (Teddington, UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Wideacre (Wideacre Trilogy 1) (Paperback)
This is a simply brilliant book. I will not describe any of the events as that would completely spoil the experience but the twists and turns of the plot as the story progressed were beautifully crafted and I definitely recommend this as a 'must read'. The characters are carefully thought out and as the novel continues you begin to notice the small idiosyncrises (sp?) that make them unique and upon finishing the book you are reminded of so many events that were giving you clues that you ignored along the way! The novel holds your attention, maybe once there is a paragraph that does not capture the reader and I must say that I actually gasped in shock at one point, something i don't believe i have done before when reading a book! With Gregory's book 'The Other Boleyn Girl' being made into a film as we speak, I truely believe that this novel will also follow. Do not be put off by the fact that this novel is set in the past, it may have some historical references but it leaves behind that 'textbook' feel as Gregory reveals more and more about life in Wideacre and the main character, a young girl named Beatrice.
I am writing this less than five minutes after reading the sequel to this book, 'The Favoured Child' and cannot stress enough how fantasic these two novels are, easily the best I have ever read, and as a self-confessed book worm this means they are the best among many.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A fabulous first,
By
This review is from: Wideacre (Wideacre Trilogy 1) (Paperback)
A fabulous debut and the book that sparked my interest in historicals. This was Philippa Gregory at her dark, imaginative best. Contrast this with the Tudor time warp in which she is currently stuck. The sequels, The Favoured Child and Meridon, maintain the standard.
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