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Tidelands

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About this listen

 This New York Times bestseller from “one of the great storytellers of our time” (San Francisco Book Review) turns from the glamour of the royal courts to tell the story of an ordinary woman, Alinor, living in a dangerous time for a woman to be different.

A country at war
A king beheaded
A woman with a dangerous secret

On Midsummer’s Eve, Alinor waits in the church graveyard, hoping to encounter the ghost of her missing husband and thus confirm his death. Until she can, she is neither maiden nor wife nor widow, living in a perilous limbo. Instead she meets James, a young man on the run. She shows him the secret ways across the treacherous marshy landscape of the Tidelands, not knowing she is leading a spy and an enemy into her life.

England is in the grip of a bloody civil war that reaches into the most remote parts of the kingdom. Alinor’s suspicious neighbors are watching each other for any sign that someone might be disloyal to the new parliament, and Alinor’s ambition and determination mark her as a woman who doesn’t follow the rules. They have always whispered about the sinister power of Alinor’s beauty, but the secrets they don’t know about her and James are far more damning. This is the time of witch-mania, and if the villagers discover the truth, they could take matters into their own hands.

“This is Gregory par excellence” (Kirkus Reviews). “Fans of Gregory’s works and of historicals in general will delight in this page-turning tale” (Library Journal, starred review) that is “superb… A searing portrait of a woman that resonates across the ages” (People). Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Women's Fiction Marriage Royalty War

What the critics say

"A new series from Philippa Gregory is always a chance to do a happy dance. Louise Brealey's exceptional narration gives this title the life it deserves. In 1648, after his defeat in England's Civil War, King Charles is exiled to the Isle of Wight. Superstition and religious persecution permeate the tiny town and desolate tidelands of the region. One of the inhabitants is wise woman, herbalist, and midwife Alinor, whose husband, a fisherman, is missing. Looking for a spiritual sign, she goes to a cemetery, where she encounters James, a disguised Catholic priest. It proves to be a life-altering meeting. Brealey makes each of Gregory's incredibly detailed moments believable—from the treacherous tides and deadly intrigues to the dangers of just being human."
All stars
Most Relevant
I loved this historical fiction so much I listened rather than watch TV. Looking forward to book 2

Well written and well read

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Excellent account of a wicked history for England and how women were treated so terribly, with little or no recourse. Makes one think it is a fable were in fact it is the truth.

A Troubled Time

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Holding my breath waiting for the second book. Amazing and true to Philippa Gregory - sweeping, dramatic, shocking and gorgeous!

Epic and beautiful

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Magnificent story. Best narrator I have heard. Fantastic narration with none of the usual attempts at making different voices.

If I Could give 6 stars, I would

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This is my first book writen by this author and it won't be my last. Reading this book can only be described as perfect! I have around 230 books and the book made it my top 5. The book was very well written and the narrater knocked it out of park for the me.

Wow

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