Wideacre : A Novel [Paperback]

Philippa Gregory (Author)

Book Description

Series: Wideacre Trilogy | Publication Date: June 17, 2003

Beatrice Lacey, as strong-minded as she is beautiful, refuses to conform to the social customs of her time. Destined to lose her family name and beloved Wideacre estate once she is wed, Beatrice will use any means necessary to protect her ancestral heritage. Seduction, betrayal, even murder -- Beatrice's passion is without apology or conscience. "She is a Lacey of Wideacre," her father warns, "and whatever she does, however she behaves, will always be fitting." Yet even as Beatrice's scheming seems about to yield her dream, she is haunted by the one living person who knows the extent of her plans...and her capacity for evil.

Sumptuously set in Georgian England, Wideacre is intensely gripping, rich in texture, and full of color and authenticity. It is a saga as irresistible in its singular magic as its heroine.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Gregory's full-blown first novel is a marvelously assured period piece, an English gothic with narrative verve. Beatrice Lacey loves nothing more than the family estate, Wideacrenot her bluff, hearty father, her weak brother, Harry, or her mother, who can't quite believe mounting evidence that damns her passionate daughter. Foiled in her hunger to own the estate by the 18th century laws of entail, Beatrice plots her father's death, knowing she can twist Harry in any direction she chooses, for her brother harbors a dark, perverted secret. Their incestuous tangle is not broken even by Harry's marriage. And while a bounteous harvest multiplies, no one gainsays the young squire and his sister, the true master of Wideacre. Beatrice marries also, managing to hide the paternity of two children sired by Harry until her increasing greed squeezes the land and its people dry, and the seeds of destruction she has sown come to their awful fruition. Gregory effortlessly breathes color and life into a tale of obsession built around a ruthless, fascinating woman. Doubleday Book Club main selection; Literary Guild alternate; major ad/promo.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Val Hennessy London Daily Mail When it comes to writers of historical fiction, Philippa Gregory is in the very top league.

Maeve Binchy Author of Quentins 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.

San Jose Mercury News The quintessential page-turner.

Pasadena Star-News Never has fiction portrayed such a woman as Beatrice Lacey....Wideacre is a compelling story of dark fascination.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 656 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone (June 17, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743249291
• ISBN-13: 978-0743249294
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (238 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #56,560 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born in Kenya in 1954, Philippa Gregory moved to England with her family and was educated in Bristol and at the National Council for the Training of Journalists course in Cardiff. She worked as a senior reporter on the Portsmouth News, and as a journalist and producer for BBC radio.

Philippa obtained a BA degree in history at the University of Sussex in Brighton and a PhD at Edinburgh University in 18th-century literature. Her first novel, Wideacre, was written as she completed her PhD and became an instant world wide bestseller. On its publication, she became a full-time writer, and now lives with her family on a small farm in the North of England.

Her knowledge of gothic 18th century novels led to Philippa writing Wideacre, which was followed by a haunting sequel, The Favoured Child, and the delightful happy ending of the trilogy: Meridon. This novel was listed in Feminist Book Fortnight and for the Romantic Novel of the Year at the same time - one of the many instances of Philippa's work appealing to very different readers.

The trilogy was followed by The Wise Woman, a dazzling, disturbing novel of dark powers and desires set against the rich tapestry of the Reformation, and by Fallen Skies, an evocative realistic story set after the First World War. Her novel A Respectable Trade took her back to the 18th century where her knowledge of the slave trade and her home town of Bristol produced a haunting novel of slave trading and its terrible human cost. This is the only modern novel to explore the tragedies of slavery in England itself, and features a group of kidnapped African people trying to find their freedom in the elegant houses of 18th century Clifton. Gregory adapted her book for a highly acclaimed BBC television production which won the prize for drama from the Commission for Racial Equality and was shortlisted for a BAFTA for the screenplay.

Next came two of Gregory's best-loved novels, Earthly Joys and Virgin Earth, based on the true-life story of father and son John Tradescant working in the upheaval of the English Civil War. In these works Gregory pioneered the genre which has become her own: fictional biography, the true story of a real person brought to life with painstaking research and passionate verve.

The flowering of this new style was undoubtedly The Other Boleyn Girl, a runaway best-seller which stormed the US market and then went worldwide telling the story of the little-known sister to Anne Boleyn. Now published in 26 countries with more than a million copies in print in the US alone, this is becoming a classic historical novel, winning the Parker Pen Novel of the Year award 2002, and the Romantic Times fictional biography award. The Other Boleyn Girl was adapted for the BBC as a single television drama and a film is now in production starring Scarlett Johansson as Mary Boleyn, Natalie Portman as Anne Boleyn and Eric Bana as Henry VIII.

A regular contributor to newspapers and magazines, with short stories, features and reviews, Philippa is also a frequent broadcaster and a regular contestant on Round Britain Quiz for BBC Radio 4 and the Tudor expert for Channel 4's Time Team.

She lives in the North of England with her husband and two children and in addition to interests that include riding, walking, skiing and gardening (an interest born from research into the Tradescant family for her novel, Virgin Earth), she also runs a small charity building wells in school gardens in The Gambia. Fifty-six wells have been built by UK donors to date.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

80 of 86 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beatrice Lacey: the character I most love to hate, August 2, 2003

By 

jenbird "book and classic movie fiend" (Havertown, PA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Wideacre : A Novel (Paperback)

If you thought Scarlett O'Hara was an immoral, nasty woman who would do anything to hold on to her family's land, you ain't seen nothing yet. Beatrice Lacey, the (anti)heroine of "Wideacre," is a thousand times worse...but she makes delightful reading.

It's a shame the editorial review spoiled the important plot points, because I think they're even more deliciously awful when you come upon them by surprise. Every time you think you've finally got a handle on just how low Beatrice will stoop, she turns around and does something else even worse, brimming over with schemes that wouldn't ever occur to "normal" people.

I had trouble putting the book down, and raced through the last few chapters, completely captivated and dying to find out what would happen next. A truly satisfying read.

On a final note, I agree with previous reviewers who stated that this book shouldn't be filed in the romance category. While it does occasionally stray slightly into "bodice ripper" territory, you're not going to find hearts and flowers in this book.

50 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliantly Pagan, August 23, 2003

By 

K. McDermott (Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wideacre : A Novel (Paperback)

What a curious and, ultimately, brilliant book. If you're looking for a traditional historical romance, you won't enjoy this. If you're looking for a richly imagined novel that draws on a deep knowledge of rural traditions and of the dark powers behind the pastoral ideal, then you will find this book utterly involving. Beatrice, the heroine, is maddeningly self-absorbed, but she is absolutely real in the way that pagan goddesses are real -- seductive, enchanting, terrifying, destructive. Her actions have consequences that are completely believable, unlike those of Scarlett O'Hara (to whom she's been compared). Her name in Latin means "she who blesses," and Gregory invests that fact with all possible irony. Gregory knows her stuff, both mythically and politically, and she offers a sharp, edgy portrait of just what the infant years of the Industrial Age meant to the English countryside. And, oh yes, there's plenty of sex (though not overly explicit) for those who like that sort of thing.

33 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow - this is one amazing book!, September 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Wideacre (Wildacre Trilogy) (Hardcover)

I just have to say first that this book is always put into the romance section in book stores - and I feel that is very wrong. This novel is erotic - but it is by no means a romance. Anyone looking for a happy book with a tidy conclusion had better look elsewhere! This novel tells the story of Beatrice Lacey, a young lady of the 18th century who realizes at a young age that the only things she wants out of life are "land and loving." Yet as she is a girl, Beatrice is destined to be denied owning the land she loves - the Wideacre estate of the title. Beatrice's struggle to possess Wideacre - which often leads her into dark and evil things - is the main subject of this book. Yet it also packs a few feminist punches, gives the reader grand descriptions of life in England during the 18th century, and introduces one of the most appealing heroes in all historical fiction. Those who read the book without falling in love with Ralph have problems! The two next books in the series are a delight as well! Read it now!