A review by judibud
Wideacre by Philippa Gregory

5.0

I was blown away by this book. I found myself in a mood with my husband but couldn't place the reason I eventually figured out that as I was reading Wideacre I was taking on the emotion and the mood of Beatrice. When she was upset I found myself upset too, when she was excited so was I. It's not often I read a book and get so emotionally involved. Philippa Gregory has a real talent for writing.

It is also not very often that I enjoy a book with such a hateful main character (she is certainly not the heroine!). All the same I loved her, I believed in her and I wanted her to win. As I was reading, it was as if I was her sub conscience and as she convinced herself it was the only way to accomplish her dream she convinced me too. I was totally enveloped in this story and cannot wait to get underway with the next in the series.

This is not a book for the faint-hearted, it is not the same style as Gregory's tudor series and neither is it your regular regency drama. It is not about rich, young women looking for rich, handsome men to marry. It is a story of the passion one woman has for her land, land that she will never legally own, and her willingness to do anything and commit any crime to stay upon it and call it her own.

Warning: Sexually explicit, murder, incest, lies, death and alcoholism are a few of the themes you will find in this book.