Product Description

This is the reissue of Philippa Gregory's first novel, a tale of passion and intrigue set in the eighteenth century. 'If it was the way of the world that girls left home, then the world would have to change. I would never change.' 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. Sweeping, passionate, unique: "Wideacre" is the novel which brought Philippa Gregory to bestselling fame and is the first of the trilogy which continued with "The Favoured Child" and concluded with "Meridon".

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1621 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-16
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 624 pages

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 'Written from instinct, not out of calculation, and it shows.' Peter Ackroyd, The Times

About the Author
Philippa Gregory is an established writer and broadcaster for radio and television. She holds a PhD in eighteenth-century literature from the University of Edinburgh. She lives in the North of England with her family.

Customer Reviews

Rather like picking a scab - manky, but oddly fascinating.
Straight off, I have to say that I am an uncritical fan of most of PGs work, but this one stretched even my credulity a bit. Being an unapologetic, pavement-plodding, Glaswegian city-girl , I was a little confused by the mystic, magical appeal of Wideacre, and I spent the first few chapters rather wondering what all the fuss was about. Still do, as a matter of fact. Despite this, I found the characters utterly compelling, if only in a slightly disturbing way, and the plots elaborate turns and developments were fascinating; but in the way that picking a scab is - you know its just going to end in (apologies for word creation, but nothing else does it justice) manky-ness, but you still just keep going. Saying that, I did find the John-addicted-to-whisky-and-only-Celia-can-save-him thing a little bit wearing after the fortyseventh mysterious whisky bottle, but never mind, it still made interesting reading. Overall, I have to say that the trilogy was one of my favouriteist books ever, but Wideacre I found a bit tiresome after the initial excitement, but the whole thing was redeemed in my (admittedly uncritical) eyes by the brilliant ending. After reading Favoured Child, the epilogue nearly made me cry. That's it for now, you've been a great audience, thank you and goodnight.

Disappointing
Wideacre Having read several Philippa Gregory books, including the brilliant novel 'A Respectable Trade' I bought this trilogy with anticipation and took 'Wideacre' on holiday. What a disappointment! The reissue of the 'Wideacre' trilogy is a commercial decision based on Philippa Gregory's more recent successes. Her heroine, described by some as poisonous but fascinating, becomes, in my view, unbelievable and ridiculous, as do the other characters. They are excused their weaknesses by a light dusting of 'history'. I resorted to skim reading to finish the book.

Wouldn't even give this to Oxfam
Terrible. This book was a gift, and i should have given it straight back.
Considering the standard of her other books, this is disappointing. Tacky, farfetched, and just generally bad