I thought it was time to pick up another Philippa Gregory book. I truely am a fan, however, am feeling a little guilty. This is the 2nd book in a trilogy about eighteenth century England and the Wideacre estate. I love reading about this time period. Ms. Gregory has a theme of incest in the first and now the second book, thus my guilt. Putting that aside, it is quite high in drama and tells the story of 2 young children who think they are cousins, promise to marry each other (but are forbidden by their "parents") & both in line as equal inheritants to the Wideacre estate. They become rivals for the love and affection of the village people who serve the Wideacre estate and this escalates into deperate acts of all kinds of nasty stuff. I grew to absolutely hate Richard, the brother and the book became a page turner to find out when he gets his just desserts. No death would have been too bad for him. How awful.