Product Description

From the New York Times bestselling author of THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL

Philippa Gregory

The Wideacre Trilogy

WIDEACRE

Beatrice Lacey, strong-minded and beautiful, refuses to conform to the social customs of her time. Destined to lose her family name and beloved Wideacre estate once she is married, Beatrice will use any means:--seduction, betrayal, even murder--to protect her ancestral heritage. Yet even as Beatrice's scheming seems about to yield her dream, she is haunted by the one person who knows the extent of her plans...and her capacity for evil.

THE FAVORED CHILD

The Wideacre estate is bankrupt. The villagers are living in poverty, and Wideacre Hall is a smoke-blackened ruin. But, in the Dower House, two children are being raised in protected innocence. Equal claimants to the estate, rivals for the love of the village, they are tied by a secret childhood betrothal but forbidden to marry. Only one can be the favored child. Only one can be Beatrice Lacey's true heir.

MERIDON

Meridon knows she does not belong in the dirty vagabond life of a bareback rider in a traveling show. The half-remembered vision of another life drives her son, even as her beloved sister, Dandy, risks everything for their future. Alone, Meridon follows the urgings of her dream, riding in the moonlight past the rusted gates, up the winding drive to a house--clutching the golden clasp of the necklace that is her birthright--home at last to Wideacre.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #99409 in Books
• Published on: 2006-11-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback

Customer Reviews

Recommend reading this trilogy if you are a Gregory fan
I have to start out by saying that I didn't like this trilogy as much as I liked the 5 novels centering around Henry VIII's court and his daughters, but that is an unfair comparison I suppose. The fact that those novels are, at least loosely, "based on a true story" is probably what made them so rivoting for me. That being said, the plot of these 3 novels is every bit as involved and suspenseful. The only thing I did not like as much about these novels was the wordy descriptions of the countryside and the lay of the land on Wideacre. As I read through these books, I started to say in my head, "Ok! I get it! Wideacre is the most beautiful place on earth and very magical regardless of the season..blah blah blah. Can we get on with the actual plot please?!". I hate to admit this, but there were times when I actually would skip an entire paragraph or two once I was tired of hearing about the same stream and crop of trees for the 10th time. Don't get me wrong, I understand the value of describing the environment in detail so that you can really feel that you are "there", but the same environment many, many times over becomes tedious after a while.

That was the only thing negative that I have to say about these 3 books. I suppose that is a personal preference rather than an actual negative aspect of the writing, though.

Once you get past that, the plots are very dramatic and the women who are the centers of these stories are each very unique and very interesting in their own way. The common theme between this trilogy and her Tudor novels is the struggle of women to control their own destiny. If you liked that about those books, you will probably like these. I still highly recommend these novels, just try not to compare them to the Tudor novels. It's not really fair, in my opinion =).

Careful of your expectations
I read this trilogy probably for the same reason most of you are considering buying it: because I had read another Phillipa Gregory book (in my case, 'The Other Boleyn Girl,' and once I read a book I really like, I try to read other books by that same author.

With that said, I'll issue a word of warning. The Wideacre books are not like Gregory's books on the Tudor era. Set in England during the Georgian period, the trilogy centers around the Lacey family and their property, which is called 'Wideacre.' Gregory tried to create a very strong female protagonist, Beatrice, a girl who is frustrated by her gender limitations during this time period and uses her wits and wiles to make up for female limitations.

Beatrice is not, though, a sympathetic character. In the beginning, most people would empathize with Beatrice and feel her frustrations. But as the series continues, the drastic actions (up to, and including, the act of incest) loses the reader's sympathy.

The descriptions of the lengths Beatrice will go to in order to secure her land, Wideacre, ended up being just plain disturbing to me. By the end of 'The Favoured Child,' the second book, I no longer had any interest in Beatrice's trials and tribulations...in fact, I was hoping she failed miserably, but didn't want to read further to find out.

I think it's wonderful when an author can change style and subject matter with ease, so I applaud Ms. Gregory for her range, but I also think it's good for readers to know when some of their books differ so completely from others (that's why we have Amazon, I suppose!).

If you enjoyed Ms. Gregory's Tudor books, stick to those. If you have the stomach for something grittier, give these a try and maybe you'll enjoy them more than I did. Happy reading!

What do you expect of Gregory??
These really have to be read as a trilogy. Not, read half of the first, get disgusted, and say all three books are awful. I ALMOST put down the first one when the incest just got to be too much, but having nothing better to do that day, finished reading it anyway. Some of those scenes- wow, they are gross. I was leary about starting the second book.

But the first book really sets up the other two, and the incest is much milder in the second book, and non-existent in the third. I liked each book much better than the next, and ended up reading the trilogy in about 4 days. I'm giving a 5 star, not because I think this is some great literature, but because they held my interest, and were definate page-turners. The characters were painted with a broad brush, but after reading The Other Boleyn Girl, I found them no more distasteful than Gregory's portrayal of Anne Boleyn. There's incest in that one two, just that in Wideacre, we're given a blow by blow description. Meridon, the last book of the trilogy, is as good as The Queens Fool, my favorite Gregory book.