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421st out of 504 books
—
345 voters
Wideacre (The Wideacre Trilogy #1)
by
Philippa Gregory (Goodreads Author)
Beatrice Lacey, as strong-minded as she is beautiful, refuses to conform to the social customs of her time. Destined to lose her family name and beloved Wideacre estate once she is wed, Beatrice will use any means necessary to protect her ancestral heritage. Seduction, betrayal, even murder -- Beatrice's passion is without apology or conscience. "She is a Lacey of Wideacre...more
Paperback, 648 pages
Published
June 17th 2003
by Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group
(first published 1987)
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Apr 19, 2012
Karla (Mossy Love Grotto)
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Karla (Mossy Love Grotto) by:
Sarah
Shelves:
historical-fiction,
gothic,
georgian-era,
adultery,
big-fat-epics,
bring-your-big-girl-panties,
cover-artists-ron-lesser,
crimes-of-passion,
cuz-sarah-feeds-my-habit,
eras-18th-century,
heroine-ball-buster,
illegitimacy,
incest,
knickers-in-a-twist,
recommended-to-me,
philippa-gregory,
characters-you-love-to-hate,
for-lil-sis,
5-stars,
keepers,
family-sagas,
eww-eww-ick-they-said,
ebook,
have-paper-copy-too,
i-own-this,
heas-are-for-wussies
I'm a reader who holds grudges. Disappoint me, and it's likely that an author will get cleaned off my shelves and dumped in the donation bin because if I try to read another title by them, the bad experience keeps lingering and trashes the current read. But Philippa Gregory has been the exception.
After two rather blah reads (A Respectable Trade and Fallen Skies, the latter which I will certainly re-attempt), this hefty saga was recommended to me by the awesome Sarah, whose similarly awesome revi...more
After two rather blah reads (A Respectable Trade and Fallen Skies, the latter which I will certainly re-attempt), this hefty saga was recommended to me by the awesome Sarah, whose similarly awesome revi...more
28 likes
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Horrible drivel! I had to scrub my brain after reading it. The lengths the heroine goes to for her beloved Wideacre would be semi-interesting if we gave a crap in the first place, but since the author can't even manage to do that well we don't give a crap and so it's a waste of our time and money!
Other books by this author are far, far better. Skip it! Read 'The Other Boleyn Girl' or 'The Boleyn Inheritance'!
Another one that went up on Bookmooch right away, and surprisingly was snapped right up....more
Other books by this author are far, far better. Skip it! Read 'The Other Boleyn Girl' or 'The Boleyn Inheritance'!
Another one that went up on Bookmooch right away, and surprisingly was snapped right up....more
26 likes
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I absolutely hated this book. I don't know why I finished it, except that I like the way Phillipa Gregory writes, I just don't like what she writes about. The heroine is despicable in every possible way, yet the author clearly expects you to root for her à la Scarlett O'Hara. She commits multiple acts of murder, participates in very creepy incest, and betrays people who love her. I'm not particularly squeamish, but I do require some redeeming qualities in a protagonist if I'm to forgive them all...more
20 likes
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Aug 07, 2007
Jenny
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
fans of historical fiction who aren't completely freaked out by incest and rape
Even though it is at times grossly sexual (and I mean gross as in disgusting), the Wideacre trilogy is one of my favorite stories of all time. For me, it really captures the essence of the era, and I loved it so much that I read the entire trilogy (easily 1,500 pages) in about two weeks. If you're not uncomfortable with incest, rape and sodomy, it truly is a wonderful, entertaining read, if for no other reason than to show what lengths people will go to get what they think they want. Highly reco...more
19 likes
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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13 likes
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Nov 14, 2007
Renee
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
People Who Enjoy Historical Fiction And Don't Mind A Very Scandalous Narrator
I loved the first half of this book. Beatrice Lacey is by far the most horrible, hateful, despicable narrator I've ever read, but I found myself rooting for her throughout all her scandalous deeds- the conspired murder, the attempted murder, the committed murder, the incest, the hidden pregnancies, and on and on the list goes. I even found myself disliking sweet little Celia, as wonderful a woman as she was, simply because she was Beatrice's enemy. That, I think, is the mark of a truly wonderful...more
16 likes
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Dec 03, 2008
Tiffany
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Tiffany by:
Kathleen
Beatrice is one of my favorite characters of all times. She is confident, self-assured, unyielding, and maybe one of the biggest bitches in literature. With all the books out there that negate women's power and authority (uh hm...TWILIGHT), Gregory knows how to create a character that uses her strong feminine prowess and works the system. "The system" being the 18th century society in which women had very few rights and entitlement. What I think redeems Beatrice is her connection with the land a...more
I have never read a book where I detested the protagonist more than I did in this one. I have read other of Phillipa Gregory's books and always liked the main character but this one is a dozzy. She is selfish, she betrays almost everyone in her life all in the need to own the house and property where she grew up, Wideacre. She even has well I don't want to spoil the plot, so I will only say that I couldn't wait for her to get what she deserved. I just couldn't like her but there are other nice c...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Jul 01, 2008
Caroline
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical-fiction,
read-in-2008
I really wonder what Philippa Gregory was going for in this novel, because she certainly didn't give us a likable heroine in the slightest. Beatrice Lacey is one of the most horrible, nasty protagonists I've read...and honestly I enjoyed her scandalous behavior. I went into this novel knowing that she was a universally disliked character, and I think that really helped my overall enjoyment of this.
I did find myself actually wishing Beatrice would get her way during parts of the novel, which surp...more
I did find myself actually wishing Beatrice would get her way during parts of the novel, which surp...more
Oh man. Beatrice Lacy you are one crazy little bitch. It’s not often that you get to read a story through the eyes of the villain, but I loved it! I know a lot of people didn’t care for the book because they found the protagonist hard to stomach. Oh yeah, and the vomit inducing incest probably didn’t help either.
She was perhaps one of the shrewdest, most vile characters I have come across. She had no conscience and took down everything and everyone that stood in her way. Half way through the bo...more
She was perhaps one of the shrewdest, most vile characters I have come across. She had no conscience and took down everything and everyone that stood in her way. Half way through the bo...more
Didn't even finish reading this one. The characters are put into neat little boxes: Beatrice is evil, Harry is simpleminded, Celia is demure and kind, etc. The incest was disturbing, but it wasn't the incest that it caused me to stop reading the book. I just reached a point where I realized that I had already read 400+ pages of a book I didn't like and was only 2/3 of the way through. I felt like my time would be better spent doing just about anything other than reading this ridiculous book.
I've...more
I've...more
13 likes
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I had heard soooo much about Philippa Gregory's novels. I had initially wanted to read "The Other Boleyn Girl" first, but it was unavailable, so I picked up Wideacre first and cracked it open with anticipation....I think I had read 4 chapters before I threw it against the wall. I think there has only been a couple of times where I just can't finish a book, usually I'll plod through just because I feel guilty for not finishing! But with this book, I just absolutely hated the characters! Ugh! I'll...more
4 likes
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Though I loved The Other Boleyn Girl by P. Gregory, I did not enjoy this one. The main character was a complete witch and didn't deserve any sympathy. I only kept reading it so that she would get her cumupins, which she rightly deserved. There was one particular aspect of the book that made my skin crawl and I felt dirty for just reading it. I have really no desire to read the other books in the trilogy if all of them are like this.
5 likes
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This book is seriously trash. We see events through Beatrice, our main character and villian. She is so terrible bad with no redeeming quality, it is ridiculous. This is the first in a triliogy, and I won't be reading another. I actually really like Gregory's historical ficiton, but I think she must be better when she is left in the confines of real events and people. When she allows her own imagination to run wild, it goes really wild, to the laughable. How did you feel about the movie Show Gir...more
This is the second book I read by Phillipa Gregorey. They are on the scale of "epic novels" almost - really well researched,which I love about it; good plot and character development; and gratuitous sex. Can't go wrong with any of those three characteristics! The first one I read was The Other Boleyn Girl. Also a great read for the same reasons. The movie version of The Other Boleyn Girl was so bad, so lacking in development. It was like all they went after was the gratuitous sex. Disgusting, I...more
Unlike any other protagonist I've experienced, Beatrice is a modern young woman in Georgian England with such a strong passion for Wildacre, the estate she grew up on, that she'll do anything --and I do mean ANYTHING -- to hang onto it. But she has an older brother who by law must inherit it and by rights could marry her off, removing her from Wideacre. But because she never, ever wants to leave and because even if she is the only surviving occupant, the entail prevents her from inheriting, much...more
It took me a while to give something "non-tudor" a try, but I found I really enjoyed this book. I found some parts quite disturbing and the whole premise is a bit hard to swallow, but this remains my favorite novel by Philippa Gregory and of the wideacre trilogy. It's a good entertaining escape.
Jul 08, 2008
Savannah
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
people who liked The Other Boelyn Girl, people who liked Gone With the Wind
If Gone With the Wind happened in England...it might look a little like this!
A ruthlessly sexy yet detestible anti-heroine captivates your attention as she will do anything to inherit her childhood plantation, including
[--------SPOILER--------:]
arrange the murder of her own father, murder the murderer, commit incest with her brother, strangle-hold her own sister-in-law, arrange the murder of her mother, and drive her husband to ruin.
Yet with all this evil, the book's genteel language and spectac...more
A ruthlessly sexy yet detestible anti-heroine captivates your attention as she will do anything to inherit her childhood plantation, including
[--------SPOILER--------:]
arrange the murder of her own father, murder the murderer, commit incest with her brother, strangle-hold her own sister-in-law, arrange the murder of her mother, and drive her husband to ruin.
Yet with all this evil, the book's genteel language and spectac...more
spoiler alert...
once she had agreed her father should be killed and started sleeping with her brother, i wondered why the hell am i reading this. yet unlike 2 other books i have listed on here that i was able to just put down and leave, here i wanted to find out more so i read it to the very end...600+ pages. i've never read a character written so shamelessly evil that wasn't a side character or almost a caricature of a villian. she was evil to the very end and not one apology for it. the strang...more
once she had agreed her father should be killed and started sleeping with her brother, i wondered why the hell am i reading this. yet unlike 2 other books i have listed on here that i was able to just put down and leave, here i wanted to find out more so i read it to the very end...600+ pages. i've never read a character written so shamelessly evil that wasn't a side character or almost a caricature of a villian. she was evil to the very end and not one apology for it. the strang...more
2 likes
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Jan 21, 2008
Kim
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Someone who married their brother
The only reason I gave this book a star is because the darn system wouldn't let me give less. Now, I'm not a prude who doesn't like my book to contain a bit of a steamy scene once in a while. In fact, bring it on. JUST NOT WITH YOUR BROTHER. I loved the time period of this book, and initially I was impressed with the strength of the heroine. However...she lost me when she started thinking up ways to seduce her brother. And chucked a darling hubby out the window (Not literally). What was that abo...more
9 likes
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Jun 24, 2008
Rebecca
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Escape seekers
Recommended to Rebecca by:
My sister Jen
URG! I read this book because I liked The Other Boleyn Girl and the related Philippa Gregory novels. What a mistake! It was certainly gripping, mostly because you detest the narrator and can't wait for her to die. It IS suspenseful, and probably an excellent beach read. It's also shocking and will make you cry out in horror (i.e., don't read in on the subway unless you want people to look at you funny!). Much sudsier than the usual Gregory novel, with absolutely no redeeming historical value. In...more
2 likes
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Jun 13, 2008
Jem
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
People who like disturbed characters
I’m going to disagree with the majority of reviews here and say that I loved the book. I couldn’t put it down so much that I had read over half of it on the first day of purchase. I really liked the style of writing, the way you felt every emotion, good or bad that Beatrice was going through. The incestuous theme seems to have caused quite a stir here but for me the lead up to it was so intense that I found myself rooting for it to happen! Yes Beatrice is evil, and yes she is certainly vile but...more
Wowee! What a sociopath the main character in this story is! Beatrice Lacey at fifteen knows she never wants to leave her beloved home at Wideacre. If this means parricide, murder and incest so be it. All I can say is Gregory has written yet another very interesting tale. While you find yourself uncomfortable inside Beatrice's head the story is so salaciously intriguing that you can't stop reading because you need to know the outcome for the dozens of other much more sympathetic characters invol...more
Beatrice Lacey, the strong willed, gorgeous red-headed daughter of the Squire of Wideacre, refuses to conform to the customs of her time. Realizing that upon her marriage, she is destined to lose not only her family name, but the only thing she has ever loved (Wideacre Esate) as well, our (anti) heroine, will stop at nothing protect her what she considers "hers". Seduction, lies and murder -- Beatrice's desire to own her own land is without apology or conscience. "She is a Lacey of Wideacre," he...more
I picked this book up because I am quite a fan of Philippa Gregory. I find the Tudor period an especially interesting period in history and I really enjoyed her Tudor novels. I also enjoyed the first two of her ‘Cousin’s War’ series, and A Respectable Trade.
This was Gregory’s first novel. My paperback copy is 648 pages long, and in my opinion, could have been told in about 400 pages. It is Gregory’s usual fast page-turning style, and as gripping as her other novels, you can’t help but need to kn...more
This was Gregory’s first novel. My paperback copy is 648 pages long, and in my opinion, could have been told in about 400 pages. It is Gregory’s usual fast page-turning style, and as gripping as her other novels, you can’t help but need to kn...more
Some parts of this book completely grossed me out - the serious amount of incest for one thing, ugh - but the story was amazing and I couldn't help liking Beatrice even though the reader probably isn't supposed to. She's strong, and determined, and absolutely refuses to bow down to the male-dominated society of the time she lives in, which are all qualities I love. And she's stubborn and selfish and conflicted, which makes for good reading and a 'real' character, she's not black and white. I com...more
I read this book when I was thirteen. I had read Gregory's Tudor books and had just picked this up from my past experience with the author. To be honest with you, I haven't really been the same since. When I put the book down, I was in some state of mental shock. You could say the book really did open my eyes. No book has managed to shock me since.
I assume this was because, up until then, I had always assumed the protagonist was a goodie. They just had to be. However, the main character in this,...more
I assume this was because, up until then, I had always assumed the protagonist was a goodie. They just had to be. However, the main character in this,...more
It has been years since I read this, but a recent book signing with Philippa Gregory made me want to revisit my favourites. (I didn't got to the signing, but my best friend was and she got a book on my behalf. ^.^)
I was about... *thinks* 14 when I first read this and visiting it nearly ten years later (that's a scary thought!) I was worried it wouldn't have the same allure.
But Beatrice is everything I remembered her to be. I love her. She's an addictive character and the plot? My gosh is that a...more
I was about... *thinks* 14 when I first read this and visiting it nearly ten years later (that's a scary thought!) I was worried it wouldn't have the same allure.
But Beatrice is everything I remembered her to be. I love her. She's an addictive character and the plot? My gosh is that a...more
I've made a decision to read constantly for the next 843 days to keep my mind off my troubles and wait out a personal milestone. One of my problems for the last few years is I've been too discriminating in my reading choices and have often been so paralyzed that I ended up never choosing and not reading at all. Not anymore and my first read, Wideacre is the proof.
I'd read Gregory's Boleyn books and enjoyed them, so I thought to try another series. I'm glad to know this was her debut novel, beca...more
I'd read Gregory's Boleyn books and enjoyed them, so I thought to try another series. I'm glad to know this was her debut novel, beca...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rubbish! | 41 | 268 | Mar 26, 2013 03:27pm | |
| Wonderful Book | 19 | 74 | Aug 31, 2012 04:25pm |
Philippa Gregory was an established historian and writer when she discovered her interest in the Tudor period and wrote the novel The Other Boleyn Girl, which was made into a TV drama and a major film. Published in 2009, the bestselling The White Queen, the story of Elizabeth Woodville, ushered in a new series involving The Cousins’ War (now known as The War of the Roses) and a new era for the acc...more
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