Wideacre

Wideacre, Book 1

By: Philippa Gregory

Narrated by: Emma Powell

Length: 26 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

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

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)

Long and drawn out

Ms. Emma Powell did an amazing job telling the story.. The story itself was long and boring at times.. There is murder and incest for those who love something different..

Different

The book is written well but is long and not a happy ending. The incest is difficult and not pleasant.

Couldn’t stop listening

I couldn’t stop listening even though I wanted to. The main character is so terrible and depraved that it was hard to listen as each chapter she increases in her depravity. However it is so well written that I had to stay for the entire book.

Fantastic book

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I have enjoyed everyone of Philippa Gregory’s books but this is one of my favorites. Her characters are wonderful and have several layers to them. This was a real page turner. I am looking forward to reading the second in this trilogy.

Pass!

Normally, I like me some Philippe Gregory but this book was too much! About 20 hours too much. Too much incest. Too much sex. And we get it, Beatrice is a terrible, terrible human being. I was over it about a quarter of the way through but for some reason I feel the need to finish my books. So I did. I think it had the potential to be good but it missed the mark.

So depressing 😞

Struggled to finish it. I was depressed the whole time I read it, didn't like it..

Dark

I enjoyed the first half of the book. Then it started getting dark and I wanted to stop reading but I had hoped it would somehow come around but it didn’t for me

Sooooo much filler

Loved the performance. Story description was inadequate. Author goes on and on and on and on about Beatrice thoughts on Wideacre. We got it the first 25 times she described how Wideacre made her feel. Overall the story was interesting but the author could have written this same story in 15 chapters. Author made so many assumptions for the characters that did not ring true. One example is the assumption that John figured out the incest while he was in a liquor stupor. Not realistic. There were several places the author took liberties like this. Overall this book was entertaining if you need to fill the gap while waiting on credits to buy a new book.

One of the Best Books EVER

As a farmers daughter, and loving the land, some would call it having an obsession with it. The passion the main character feels for the land and hearing it's "heart beat" just speaks to my soul. Trust me when I say, those feelings are real. I know you say that Beatrice is not real BUT I see so many qualities and traits of her in myself that it gave me goosebumps. This book is one of my favorites of all time.

Twisted and intriguing

i suggest listening at a faster speed. This is a good but disturbing story. Its worth the credit. Evil finally pays a price.
i have listened to all 3 books at this point. This is a slow moving saga with lots of historical details, character development, and ruthlessness. There is sibling incest for a power play. There are heros, villains, and complex characters with the whole array of motives. At times I was not sure who the "good" guy was which is so often true of life.
i recommend the books but understand it is not a light read and not for everyone.