Wideacre: Book 1 (The Wideacre Trilogy)

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I’d love to have written a novel that gave the world a new gothic concept or meme. Jekyll and Hyde, triffids, Stepford wives – something like that.

This is a "historical fiction" novel (I put it in quotes because the only historical things thus far were petticoats and carriages driven by horses.), a story of Scarlett O'Hara/Marquise Isabelle de Merteuil type of protagonist who is a) horny, b) loves her land and c) is a manipulative psychopath. Although Meridon frustrated me, that frustration shows how well written the book was to evoke such emotions in me. It was a well written novel with some unexpected plot twists; but ultimately, compared to Wideacre, which was a brilliant novel, it could have been a lot better...at times, the plot plodded along at a snail’s pace, which wasn’t particularly engrossing, and it was, overall, a somewhat poor end to a very promising trilogy. So the final moments in the book were pretty intense. Richards confessions to all his evil deeds in childhood were never a mystery to the reader, but it definitely felt good to hear them voiced to Julia because she was a bit naive in everything Richard. Julia definitely made me angry on several occasions for being too stupid and gullible to realize that Richard was to blame. Especially the way she let him ruin her in the Summertime house. And how she allowed him to come between her and James. Holy crap that made me angry!!! Beatrice Lacey was an unreliable narrator of the finest sort -- a complete psycho in some ways, but startlingly insightful in others. In contrast to Beatrice, Julia Lacey is intended as a positive figure. She doesn't conspire to murder & destroy for personal reasons, nor does she willingly enter into an incestuous relationship with her sibling. But peripheral characters from Book 1 have been burned by Beatrice & her dominating awfulness, & they ruthlessly stomp the smallest signs of willfull behavior (i.e., "Beatrice's witchery") within Julia's veins. The result? An unrepentant doormat of a heroine -- a woman who has no concept of what an abusive relationship is, a woman with absurd expectations of love, a woman who is nowhere nearly strong enough to renew Acre & still defeat her brother Richard. One or the other...maybe. But not both. The most irksome aspect of TFC is Julia's indoctrination into & acceptance of the abusive relationship with Richard -- she believes that indoctrination is a woman's duty, & she accepts Richard's domination as the natural course of their roles, even when his touch starts to repel her & she learns the full extent of his evil. Her voice is a peek into Battered Woman Syndrome, & it's extremely uncomfortable (as it's meant to be).The Wideacre novels are quite controversial. Some people love them. Some people hate them. But everyone who has read them has strong feelings about them, and for good reason. For me, there was some massive twists which I only kinda saw but I think if you read the first book you would have known.Nevertheless, I enjoyed the sudden reveal and how the plot developed into something much more. I had no idea where the story was going but I thoroughly enjoyed how things ended up.

So. The concluding volume of the Wideacre trilogy. Each book is different, but this is by far the tamest. The story arc covers two years instead of 10 or more & the WTFery is kept to a minimum; for those that care, there's no incest in this book. The plot itself is adequately horrifying although much more predictable than Wideacre, especially given Julia's premonitions, which she somehow doesn't understand although anyone (even someone who hasn't read Wideacre) can see what they're about. Nevertheless, I liked the ending. 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. Then there’s Ralph, the gamekeeper’s son who Beatrice fell for when she was little more than a child. Ralph and Beatrice were supposed to join forces to usurp Harry’s control over the estate.

Publication Order of Plantagenet and Tudor Books

It seems like Ralph killed Beatrice at the end of the book. The way she left her room by the window to meet him outside and how she cried out his name like she missed him made me think she was still in love with him.

Cons:I did not like Julia's weakness and passiveness as a character. She was not nearly as strong as Beatrice, and I was hoping that she would have a stronger and bolder personality. Wideacre is a series of historical fiction novels written by Philippa Gregory. The books follow the exploits of a family whose obsession with a grand estate destroys them. Beatrice is the match which lights the fire that eventually burns the entire Lacey family to the ground. The Wideacre books chronicle her rise and eventual downfall.

Publication Order of Wideacre Books

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. While I would have wished Julia in The Favoured Child a happy ending, I appreciate that the fate Philippa Gordon gave her was much more realistic. Julia Lacey: Daughter of Beatrice and Harry. She is passed off as Celia's daughter and later raised by her and John. Although less timid and naïve as Harry, her sheltered upbringing causes her to have less confidence and accept Richard's abuse. While she describes Richard as her childhood friend, bully, and betrothed, she has no feelings for him and attempts to escape from him by marrying the first man she falls in love with. However, Richard rapes and impregnates her to stop the engagement, and then forces her to marry him. She gives birth to a girl, whom she names Sarah, before she dies from a fever during afterbirth complications. 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. Characters:Julia Lacey is widely regarded by the villagers as the favored child; the one who is destined to take over Wideacre. Julia was absolutely nothing like her mother, thank God. But she was also a very weak-willed character, forgiving her cousin/brother's sins way too easily and putting the blame on herself to much of the time. I wanted to shake her and tell her to get away, he was bat-shit psycho. The one admiration I have to her is for saving her daughter from a life of madness, which have her some sort of redemption,