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3.14 AVERAGE
3.14 AVERAGE
Technically I only started it. I won't finish it. I don't much enjoy protagonists that are this amoral.
I found some of the themes do the book to be too dark, and the characters did not have very many redeeming qualities.
Was very good. It kept you guessing until the end about who would end up with Wideacre.
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I picked up Wideacre by Philippa Gregory because I loved The Other Boleyn Girl and The White Queen, but unfortunately, this one didn’t quite hit the mark for me. While I appreciated the vivid historical details—Gregory does an excellent job of bringing the fields, villagers, and the tension between old ways and the march of progress to life—I found it hard to connect with the characters. Beatrice, in particular, was difficult to root for, and Harry and the other key players didn’t inspire much investment either.
The historical setting was the standout, but without characters I could care about, the story fell a bit flat. It’s an interesting read for the atmospheric writing and exploration of rural life, but overall, it was just okay. Not my favorite from Gregory.
The historical setting was the standout, but without characters I could care about, the story fell a bit flat. It’s an interesting read for the atmospheric writing and exploration of rural life, but overall, it was just okay. Not my favorite from Gregory.
I loved this book but boy did I hate the narrator. Beatrice de Lacey is obsessed with Wideacre and she would do ANYTHING to have it. I respect and admire her determination to get what she wants and what in reality is rightfully hers as much as her brother Harry who is heir. I sympathize with her because she is living in an era where females were not equal and were just breeding machines for the men...but with that said DAMN this book was just sick SHE WAS SICK. Every page i turned and read was just more extreme than the next, the things this chick did to keep her home was just shocking and it was just pure madness from the beginning to the end....but I loved it. Phillppa Gregory managed to make me love and hate a character/narrator equally its amazing. I love her writing.
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Set in 1772 England, devious, sensual Beatrice Lacey dominates this finely detailed historical drama of unbridled lust and ambition. Throughout childhood and adolescence, Beatrice’s only desire has been to live out her days on Wideacre, her family’s lush country estate—though thanks to the law of primogeniture (first-born son or closest male relative gets everything), she is barred from inheriting it. Instead, it will go to Harry, her buffoon brother who stands to become the next Squire at their father’s death, while she will be sent away from her beloved land at marriage. Yet mere legal ramifications won’t stop Beatrice. As she vows to fight conventional society and get what she wants, she and her loved ones become entangled in a dangerous web of deceit, manipulation, and murder that threatens to destroy them all.
Wideacre, Gregory’s debut novel from 1987, has many elements found in her later books: intimate historical detail, an intriguing plot, and steamy romance that all make excellent fare for middlebrow readers. (In other words, you can read her for the sex scenes, while legitimately claiming that you’re just interested in the history.)
Yet it’s also a very strange book, and definitely not for everyone. It can be a little slow at times, but really picks up towards the end. Some people also may find Beatrice hard to identify with. She’s a very complex character, loving, loyal, and kind in one minute, cruel, vain, and ruthless the next. They might also might be extremely uncomfortable with the incestuous passion that Beatrice shares with her brother, Harry—a relationship which results in two children. And it’s not really the kind of accidental sibling romance that you might find in Flowers in the Attic. It’s more of a kinky/S&M/“I hope no one looks over my shoulder to ask what I’m reading” sort of thing. Still, for anyone who has the time or the desire to try something different, have at it! Recommended for fans of Philippa’s more popular work, The Other Boleyn Girl, and for readers of more unconventional literature.
Wideacre, Gregory’s debut novel from 1987, has many elements found in her later books: intimate historical detail, an intriguing plot, and steamy romance that all make excellent fare for middlebrow readers. (In other words, you can read her for the sex scenes, while legitimately claiming that you’re just interested in the history.)
Yet it’s also a very strange book, and definitely not for everyone. It can be a little slow at times, but really picks up towards the end. Some people also may find Beatrice hard to identify with. She’s a very complex character, loving, loyal, and kind in one minute, cruel, vain, and ruthless the next. They might also might be extremely uncomfortable with the incestuous passion that Beatrice shares with her brother, Harry—a relationship which results in two children. And it’s not really the kind of accidental sibling romance that you might find in Flowers in the Attic. It’s more of a kinky/S&M/“I hope no one looks over my shoulder to ask what I’m reading” sort of thing. Still, for anyone who has the time or the desire to try something different, have at it! Recommended for fans of Philippa’s more popular work, The Other Boleyn Girl, and for readers of more unconventional literature.
Not what I expected, I liked that!
I was actually quite shocked at the whole Wideacre series.
I was actually quite shocked at the whole Wideacre series.