Wideacre cover art

Wideacre

Wideacre, Book 1

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Wideacre

By: Philippa Gregory
Narrated by: Emma Powell
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About this listen

Featuring a foreword recorded exclusively for Audible by Philippa Gregory and an interview with the author.

Philippa Gregory's first story in the best-selling Wideacre trilogy. A compelling tale of passion and intrigue set in the 18th century. From the author of The Other Boleyn Girl and The Virgin's Lover.

Wideacre Hall, set in the heart of the English countryside, is the ancestral home that Beatrice Lacey loves. But as a woman of the 18th century, she has no right of inheritance. Corrupted by a world that mistreats women, she sets out to corrupt others.

Sexual and willful, 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.

©2006 Philippa Gregory (P)2017 Audible, Ltd Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Romance Women's Fiction

Critic Reviews

"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 calculation, and it shows." (Peter Ackroyd, The Times)
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I enjoyed this book which is well researched and interesting. However Beatrice was such an amoral and uncaring person that I began to wish she would leave the book and let us get on with life in a Sussex village.

Hard not to wish the heroine did not die sooner

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I stopped listening after Mama died … I don’t know if I could have handled 10 more tragic hours of crisis after crisis all revolving around a piece of land.
I like the idea but this dragged on.

Too much

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I enjoy this book so much as good to have a heroin who was so evil for a change ..love the pictures the descriptions bring to mind looking forward to the next in the series

Loved this

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This book is amazing...so glad it was in the included list. first time reading this author and my mind was blown. Possibly the most original and entertaining book I have readdress in a long time. The main character puts the most villainous villans to shame. The journey you are taken on in this brilliant novel will leave you speechless. Very original and entertaining novel. Hats off for the brilliance

brilliant and original

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The perfection of the narration made this story so excitingly chilling. The story left me uncomfortable at times and I couldn’t stop listening as it spiralled out of control to the inevitable end. Loved it!

Perfect Narration

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I kept waiting for the incest to stop, but I'm 10 hours in and it solidly has not. If you don't like brother sister sex themes, give it a miss.

Strong adult themes (minor spoilers in review)

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This book was brilliant and awful all at the same time. Phillippa Gregory is in my top 2 writers of all time and the story telling did not disappoint. She painted such a vivid picture of Wildacre & the Sussex country.

And as despicable as the main character was it is just a testament to Gregorys artistry as she manages to evoke such extreme emotions from her readers. I went from 'you go girl' to utter distaste, to hope that Beatrice would be found out each time, followed by deflation each time she isn't.

The subject matter was daring for 1987 when it was written. It's a masterpiece of writing that will take you through a rollercoaster of emotions and make you so uncomfortable and yet unable to stop. I nearly stopped reading every few chapters.

*Spoiler Alert- started book 2 in the series and it's already a painful mix of dejavu included anxiety & hoping against hope that what you fear will not be it!

As always I bow down to a master with the pen ( or laptop I suppose since it's 2020).

A Masterpiece

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Brilliantly read, captivating story, had me almost wincing on the edge of my seat throughout, looking forward to listening to the favoured child already… because of course I want to know what happens next!!

Had me captivated

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What an amazing storyline. So many feelings stored. Love, loss, and anger. What a twisted woman.

Wow

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Once I grasped that the heroin was a psychopath I began enjoying the lengths she would go to to achieve her contorted dream. However it rambled on and on and the story got silly. The final curtain predictable and bits that didn't make sense at all.

On and on

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