Wideacre: Book 1 (The Wideacre Trilogy)

Product Information

Wideacre is a 1987 historical novel by Philippa Gregory. This novel is Gregory's debut, and the first in the Wideacre trilogy that includes The Favoured Child (1989) and Meridon (1990). Set in the second half of the 18th century, it follows Beatrice Lacey's destructive lifelong attempts to gain control of the Wideacre estate. From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Other Boleyn Girl comes the final book of the extraordinary Wideacre trilogy as the heir to the great estate comes home at last.

I told my dad the plot of this story and he was like wtf, this sounds crazy! If we took all the parts from this book, the plot does seem OTT (over the top). But Philippa Gregory writes so masterfully that the story doesn't read like drama for the sake of drama. The whole book also has a touch of Gothic horror to it with Celia & the mom having a sense of there being corruption in the house (from the incest of Beatrice & Harry). The Wideacre series is not necessarily Beatrice’s story. In fact, her presence is primarily restricted to the first novel. However, the character has such a powerful effect on the Wideacre estate and every life she touches that her presence continues to hover all the novels in this series. But even those harshest critics of the author’s dark-hearted characters commend Philippa Gregory for her incredible writing style. Harry is not only unintelligent but also ever absent. He also doesn’t care about Wideacre and is only positioned to inherit the estate because he’s a man and Beatrice is a woman. The injustice of it all drives Beatrice up the wall and she makes it her mission in life to bring Wideacre under her direct control.To her dismay, she later discovers that he has escaped—maimed but alive—with his mother's help. Knowing he will someday seek revenge, Beatrice becomes more callous, manipulative and ruthless. ... And she has no interest in taking the marriage route, not when it means losing her beloved Wideacre, the estate to which she was introduced as a child and then promised to protect it to her dying day. Equal claimants to the estate, rivals for the love of the village, they are tied by a secret childhood betrothal but forbidden to marry. Threatened by Harry's presence, Beatrice agrees without thinking when Ralph reveals his intent to take the estate for the two of them. She realises too late what Ralph has planned, and before she can stop him he murders her father and makes it look like an accident.

During this time, she earned her in English literature at the University of Sussex where she had switched into a history course. Philippa worked at a radio station known as BBD for about two years prior to attending the University of Edinburgh. I was also surprised that Beatrice didn't get pregnant from Ralph as they had sex so many times, but I guess it wouldn't have helped advance the plot.And for a time, Beatrice truly loved Ralph. But her greed eventually gets in the way and, in Ralph, Beatrice creates a deadly enemy. The first book, Wildacre, is about Beatrice Lacey and her love for her home Wildacre and its land. She will do anything, and I mean anything, for it. She is rotten bad.

Because I loved the beginning and disliked the end, I give "Wideacre" three stars. Not a bad read and I do intend to read the next two books in the series. The poor Lacey's...everyone died too young & before their time. First, the father, then the mother, then Beatrice & Harry, then John, Celia, and Richard. I really hope the final book in the trilogy, "Meridon", will be a lot happier & will have a happy ending. We need one... I'm not expecting incest in that one unlike this one since Sarah has no brother...or father alive. I wonder if Julia will be in that book too. It seemed like she lived to be an old lady. Only one can be Beatrice Lacey’s true heir. Sensual, gripping, and mystical, The Favored Child irresistibly sweeps the reader into a world of secrets, betrayals, and power in this revolutionary period of English history. I really wonder what Philippa Gregory was going for in this novel, because she certainly didn't give us a likable heroine in the slightest. Beatrice Lacey is one of the most horrible, nasty protagonists I've read...and honestly I enjoyed her scandalous behavior. I went into this novel knowing that she was a universally disliked character, and I think that really helped my overall enjoyment of this.Where I got the book: my local library, because the one that was on my bookshelf disappeared years ago. Unlike the double-edged sword in Wideacre& The Favored Child, this book portrays the land in a positive light. Even if the land cannot be completely owned by one person -- a major theme throughout the trilogy -- Meridon sets out to redeem the lure of rural life vs. urban London. Whereas Beatrice's natural perversions are enhanced by entwining with Wideacre, the land eventually accents Sarah's positives -- a lost-and-found heiress, the last true Lacey daughter. Like Beatrice, Sarah would rather die than be apart from Wideacre soil. But unlike Beatrice, Sarah learns to recognize her role as contented caretaker rather than dominant master. That key difference is courtesy of Sarah's mother -- the downtrodden but earth-loving Julia -- and it guides Sarah to a satisfying HEA, which neither of the previous heroines could attain. Richard MacAndrew: Son of Beatrice and Harry. He is passed off as John's son by Beatrice and later raised by John and Celia. As deceptive and sociopathic as his mother, Richard is determined to fulfill Beatrice's wish of claiming Wideacre by marrying Julia. When his position is threatened by Julia and others, he murders those who stand in his way, and rapes Julia, resulting in a pregnancy and birth of a daughter, Sarah. The night of his child's birth, Richard is murdered by Ralph.