Wideacre: Book 1 (The Wideacre Trilogy)

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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.

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.Over time, Beatrice develops an obsession with the Wideacre estate. She learns to view it as a living, breathing organism of which only she has true ownership. This development makes Beatrice cruel and conniving, and she goes to great lengths to secure her control over her beloved home, showing no qualms about crossing every line and breaking every taboo. The last book is Meridon, Julia's daughter, Beatrice's granddaughter, conceived through so much incest it's amazing she can function. Meridon grew up unloved and cold and distant -- when she discovers Wildacre and her inheritance, all she can think about it how much money it will bring and how to make it hers. This book is the least raunchy because Meridon constantly tells every man she meets that she can't stand them and feels nothing for them.

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, Each book is the story of a daughter of the grand estate, Wideacre. Meridon is our heroine for this book. I can't say much without spoiling, but this one gives us a much different perspective on Wideacre, and it's little village. This is the best book of the trilogy, by far.This book was definitely less crazy than Books 1 & 2. First off, there's no incest LOL. Also, Meridon doesn't work on the land like either Beatrice or Julia did. Not quite typical Philippa Gordon, Wideacre could feel almost trashy if it weren’t so well written and well researched. Overall an excellent trilogy and I appreciate how unprejudiced the writer is and how she is a women’s champion. Equal claimants to the estate, rivals for the love of the village, they are tied by a secret childhood betrothal but forbidden to marry. 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. Philippa Gregory’s sublimely kinky Wideacre trilogy got me excited about the ways in which historical fiction could be a roaring good read yet also have things to say about gender, class and power. My guilty pleasure is Dennis Wheatley novels. Repetitive, preposterous – I can’t defend them at all

After surviving such an unpleasant and poor childhood, it is just unbelievable how blinded Meridon becomes to the Haverings' machinations. I mean, seriously, it was so obvious they were trying to take advantage of her! I hardly ever cry at books, but I do tend to fill up a bit over the fate of Anna and Vronsky in Anna Karenina. The main character, Julia, is usually a pushover which can become extremely frustrating sometimes but you never hate her as you can clearly comprehend why and I even found myself rooting for her a lot.Richard, well Richard is just a massive twat who for most of it I had a massive desire for someone to just smash his head off a wall, I really hated him, so Philippa Gregory did a great job there.Julia, Beatrice's other child, on the other hand, loves the land and is nice to people and animals, so everyone wants her to be the new squire. Plus, she inherited the Lacey Land Lust and thinks Wideacre is the Bestest Place on Earth. And, Julia has also inherited the sight. This paragraph is one of the most simplest ways to describe these major theme that places through all three books. It is exactly this message that Beatrice, Julia, and Meridon struggle with in their own way. They think it all about the money, when it's truly not. They struggle to love others and they struggle to love their own land. It's this idea of happiness that both Beatrice and Julia failed at, but Meridon achieves. Books 1 and 2 had unhappy endings. People died and they themselves died. Meridon gets her happy ending with Will and the money means nothing to her in the end. So I decided to re-read Wideacre, 20 years after the original reading that turned me into a PG fan (if a rather critical one). My task: to judge whether PG really is, in my opinion of course, or ever was a good writer. 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. The story: Beatrice Lacey is passionately fond of the Wideacre estate where she has grown up and of which her father is Squire. So fond of it that she commits incest, murder and fraud to ensure that she stays on the land rather than let ownership pass to her brother Harry. Fortunately for Beatrice Harry is a blubber-butt bundle of appetites and perverted passions, and therefore easily handled, although Beatrice's husband and sister-in-law prove a bit harder to fool. In attempting to secure Wideacre for her son, Beatrice overreaches herself and effectively ruins the land she loves, bringing starvation to the villagers who once adored her. But they have a champion in Ralph, the gamekeeper's son whom Beatrice has loved and maimed, and who is now known as the Culler and is coming to get his revenge...