Wideacre: A Novel: 1 (Wideacre Trilogy) - Softcover

Gregory, Philippa

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0743249291 ISBN 13: 9780743249294

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2003

Synopsis

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Philippa Gregory comes the stunning first novel of a thrilling trilogy about the Lacey family, and the captivating woman at the heart of a power-hungry estate willing to go to any means to protect her family name. Beatrice Lacey, as strong-minded as she is beautiful, refuses to conform to the social customs of her time. Destined to lose her heritage and beloved Wideacre estate once she is wed, Beatrice will use any means necessary to protect her ancestral name. Seduction, betrayal, even murder--Beatrice's passion is without apology or conscience. "She is a Lacey of Wideacre," her father warns, "and whatever she does, however she behaves, will always be fitting." Yet even as Beatrice's scheming seems about to yield her dream, she is haunted by the one living person who knows the extent of her plans...and her capacity for evil. Sumptuously set in Georgian England from the "queen of royal fiction" (USA TODAY), Wideacre is intensely gripping, rich in texture, and full of color and authenticity. It is a saga as irresistible in its singular magic as its heroine.

About this title

Review:

Val Hennessy London Daily Mail When it comes to writers of historical fiction, Philippa Gregory is in the very top league.

San Jose Mercury News The quintessential page-turner.

Pasadena Star-News Never has fiction portrayed such a woman as Beatrice Lacey....Wideacre is a compelling story of dark fascination.

Maeve Binchy Author of Quentins A story of violent love and unsettling passions. It will never let you rest for a page as you wait for the climax that must come for the people and the land.

"For singlemindedness, tempestuousness, passion, amorality, sensuality and plain old-fashioned evil, [Beatrice Lacey] knocks Scarlett O'Hara into short cotton socks."--Evening Standard

From the Back Cover:

''I would not leave Wideacre. I would not surrender my place to Harry. If it was the way of the world that girls left home and sons inherited, then the world would have to change. I would never change.''

Wideacre Hall, set in the heart of the English countryside, is the ancestral home that Beatrice Lacey loves. But as a woman of the eighteenth century she has no right of inheritance. Corrupted by a world that mistreats women, she sets out to corrupt others. Sexual and wilful, she believes that the only way to achieve control over Wideacre is through a series of horrible crimes, and no-one escapes the consequences of her need to possess the land.

'the eighteenth-century woman is a neglected creature but, in the figure of her heroine, Philippa Gregory has defined a certain kind of wildness... This is a novel written from instinct, not out of a calculation, and it shows.'
PETER ACKROYD, 'The Times'

'For singlemindedness, tempestuousness, passion, amorality, sensuality and plain old-fashioned evil, [Beatrice Lacey] knocks Scarlett O'Hara into short cotton socks.'
EVENING STANDARD

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0743249291
• ISBN 13: 9780743249294
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 688