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  • Wideacre

  • Wideacre, Book 1
  • Written by: Philippa Gregory
  • Narrated by: Emma Powell
  • Length: 26 hrs and 41 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (54 ratings)

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Wideacre

Written by: Philippa Gregory
Narrated by: Emma Powell
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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

What the critics say

"The 18th-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)

What listeners say about Wideacre

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Amazing storytelling but just so vulgar

I am a HUGE P.G fan, I I have read and reread all of her books. I finally got around to reading this one and to be honest halfway through I gave it up because it was just too much. Disgusting, vulgar and I don’t think there’s ever been an anti-heroine quite like Beatrice. I cannot even fathom attempting the other two books. Not if they are like this book, leaving you disturbed and wanting a shower afterwards. I can’t seem to find a good book to read. I’ve returned two other books and if I hadn’t gotten halfway through this I’d return it too. It’s hard to believe the same woman who wrote The Kings Curse etc, wrote this amazingly horrific novel. Don’t get me wrong, the story is beautifully written..but the story itself is a tale from the depths of hell.

4 people found this helpful

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Excellent Narration

Best narrator I've ever heard on Audible. Loved this wicked story of Beatrice and Wideacre, her lust and ambition for her land. Will definitely be reading the next one.

3 people found this helpful

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Love love love this Phillipa Gregory trio

Historic fiction and Gregory fans, these are awesome! So we’ll written, narrated and best of all.. free!
Don’t miss them

2 people found this helpful

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Perhaps not for everyone

This was PG’s first novel. Before she found her true path was historical fiction based on actual history.

But talent is clearly demonstrated in this novel. The story is rich although sometimes (ok, often) disturbing. The power of childhood experiences and expectations resonates thru this story.

I almost stopped a few times. But the narrator is so, so good.

2 people found this helpful

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Not a fluffy romance novel!

I really enjoyed this book, but it goes down an ever darkening path! Definitely not a feel good, light novel, however, it's very well written an narrated.

1 person found this helpful

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Terrible

Did not finish!
Found it completely disturbing.
I have liked other books by this author but this one was a bad romance novel.

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a bit hard to listen to sometimes but glad I did!

there were some moments where I was so disgusted I almost gave up listening, but the story was so good that I'm really glad I stuck through!

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Such a great performance!

I haven’t read this book in almost 20 yrs and I was so glad to find it on here. The narrator was absolutely terrific, I found myself falling asleep to this many times (in the best way lol)

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good

his is how you write a series. Cleverly written makes you want to come back for the next part.

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Great story with a sad and strange ending

Gregory's attention to historical and cultural details of the time and place of or her story lends to its credibility and is an entertaining way to learn history. Her passion for the rights and freedom of women is starkly revealed in the struggles of the female protagonist in her desperate preoccupation to pass ownership of her beloved Wideacre home to her children. To bar women or anyone from owning or inheriting property is a sure way of disenfranching them. The laws of England at the time made sure that women remained landless and powerless. With the intention to subjugate and control, these laws remain in place today for indigenous people living on reserves in Camada. They are permanent wards of the state as they cannot own land on reserves. Land ownership is the one of the keys to wealth and personal autonomy. The heroine of this story felt the injustice of being barred this privilege very keenly and deeply. I couldn't help but wonder how a woman of that time could have had such sharp awareness of the injustice. I believe that Gregory is living through her heroine. She is putting on her heroine the reactions and thoughts of a modern woman faced with this injustice.
The story ends sadly. The cost of going against the huge tide of injustice is too high. The heroine sells her soul to gain what she wants and in the end she loses everything including her love for the land.
Gregory is masterful in describing the inner landscape of her characters. This is what makes the story so compelling. What I couldn't get on board with was the strange, almost mystical relationship the the heroine had with her first lover, the landless rebel. First loves go away and are forgotten, but this boy continued to have some mysterious power over the heroine and with tragic consequences. For me, the story broke down here. It was like some piece out of a horror story. However, overall, I was engaged and listened to the end. The narration was excellent.

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  • Ruth
  • 2017-11-11

Refreshing

I enjoy fiction from this time period and found the story refreshing in a genre oversaturated with the same boring plots. Honestly I don't understand all the negative reviews. Incest? A character with bad intentions? Come on people, this is storytelling, not a handbook on morality!

Normally main female characters in historical fiction fit one of two personalities - 1) the modest mouse with hidden fire or 2) the fierce heroine with a soft side - and Beatrice fits neither. While I hold no sympathy for her, I also found myself intrigued and curious by her obsession with the land.

I think you have to approach this book with a different kind of perspective. Don't expect so much innocent goodness and just let yourself listen openly. The book brings up a lot of the darkness in humanity which we are afraid of, and I appreciated the author's ability to unveil this while simultaneously painting such a beautiful portrait of the countryside. I found her writing lovely.

Overall I saw a lot of contrasts in this book and would definitely recommend it for someone who wants something different from the same old storyline.

116 people found this helpful

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  • Melissa R. H.
  • 2018-06-05

Well-written; No Pearl Clutching Necessary

I didn't think I was going to like this story after getting close to the core of it. It's absolutely NOT your average period piece romance. And if you're looking for just a straight up love story - this is likely not for you.

Beatrice Lacey, the main character who tells her own story, isn't likable past a certain point in the book. She then becomes far less so as the story goes on. A lot of people have problems with a main character who isn't purely good-intentioned, as some other reviewers clearly do.
She becomes blinded by and solely focused on the singlular goal of owning her beloved childhood home, Wideacre, where she knows every tree, every rock, and every blade of grass, as well as everyone who works the land personally, having been raised like a son by her father, in that she was schooled in the running of the estate.
As a fiercely independent woman in the 18th century (where she has no rights to property and no opportunities to do much more than get married and idly embroider in some sitting room), it all leads her to bad, cold and cruel behavior over the years and then cold and cruel behavior to keep bad secrets hidden away.
But if you can accept that everyone has the potential to do bad/inappropriate things under just the right circumstances, you might like this book, as I did. I find fictional characters who only do right or only do wrong to be boring and unrealistic, in general.

Yes, there is incest. If you have trauma attached to that subject and don't want to read about a mutual incestuous relationship: fair warning; definitely not a book for you as it is featured throughout..
Everyone else - it's creepy and I probably would have toned it down just because it seems to go on for too long with a strange amount of desire on Beatrice's part being that she finds the person dull and cowardly. But, otherwise, not a dealbreaker like I thought it might be. It's not something that happens randomly or just because Beatrice happens to really be into this person; it's part of her plan to get to what she wants with no other direct, normal routes open to her as a woman.

The story is very interesting (I couldn't stop listening) and written wonderfully. It's so descriptive, you feel like you're there. The narrator was a HUGE standout too, for me. She was just brilliant and got every accent and every inflection right on! I was actually sad to learn she didn't do either of the other books in the series...

It's also layered. The plight of the changing life of the 18th century villager features prominently; the changing from the old system where wealthy land owner worked WITH farm workers, allowed them pieces of common land on the property to grow/graze their own food, provided harvest feasts for them, helped those in need, and generally acknowledged that the land was partially theirs because of the labor they put into it; the un-capitalistic principles of acknowledging labor for what it is - everything - and that workers are humans with needs, not programmable machines.

Overall, I quite liked it.

52 people found this helpful

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  • The Louligan
  • 2017-09-19

26 HOURS OF INCEST IS 25.75 HOURS TOO MUCH!

I have always enjoyed Philippa Gregory's books of historically based fiction. A great way to learn about the Tudors, Plantagenets, Stuarts, etc. But this book is just too TOO!!! Too much murder, too much obsession, too much BDSM, too much psychopathy and way too much incest. The latter is overdone, uncomfortable, and adds nothing to the overall plot. It can't be called MAKING LOVE, if both parties are of legal age and KNOW their sexual behavior is unacceptable. Especially between an adult brother and sister, with no prior psychological or socio-economic reasons for their actions. The main character is only 18! Even if she was born a bad seed, with a severe personality disorder, it makes no sense that her sexual sociopathy would appear in her late teens, particularly in an era that many of the young women of her age, class and breeding are married with children. Her older brother, more worldly AND married, becoming suddenly sexually attracted to his sister defies common sense. The bondage/sadism aspect also has no historic background within the family makeup. Lord knows, Gregory had HOURS to give the reader a backstory first.

The other problem with this book is that the entire story line takes place in a two year period. TWENTY-SIX HOURS of "Fifty Shades of Grey" meets "Flowers In The Attic" is ridiculous! This same story - if it really needed to be told - could have been done in less than 10 hours. That's with every act of incest and other crimes included. There is so much mind-numbing minutiae in this book that screams "ABRIDGE ME NOW!" The narrator brings nothing to this already flawed work. The length of the book overwhelms her pleasant but uninspiring voice.

If this is the first of a series, I cannot see its successors being any better. In fact, the preview at the end suggests more of the same among the unsuspecting next generation of Wildacre cousins who are actually sister and brother and the result of incest. Enough, already! Most of us are appalled enough with Cersei and Jaime Lannister in "Game of Thrones". But this work is not even close to "GOT"! I sure hope it never becomes a mini-series! 😝

50 people found this helpful

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  • Dr Karen
  • 2021-09-30

Disgusting!

Sibling incest, Patricide, greed, murder. Terrible story, then the book crashed in chapter 10. Won’t reload. Good thing I didn’t want to finish!

22 people found this helpful

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  • Megan
  • 2017-10-04

Probably decent if you can get past the incest.

It was hard for me to get over the incest throughout the book. The strong female lead I wanted to love was heartless and cruel. I couldn't relate to any of the characters in the book. This is not up to the usual bar of Philippa Gregory's other works.

22 people found this helpful

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  • Robin Johnson
  • 2018-02-28

Its a Page Turner

As others have mentioned the subject matter in this book and lengths to which Beatrice goes to keep Wideacre for herself and her family becomes abhorrent but it is so well written and narrated that I still enjoyed it...especially the surprising ending when she got what she deserved. You just never knew what she would do next and that made it a page turner for me. This book is not for the faint of heart, but if you are looking for something different and a protagonist who stops at NOTHING to get what she wants and thinks she deserves you just might like this book. Just starting book 2 tonight and will be interested to see where Philippa takes us next with Wideacret!!

20 people found this helpful

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  • Nola Craven
  • 2017-09-21

Love to hate

I loved this book. I find Beatrice to be an interesting character who you want to love and feel compassion for. However, on a regular basis she make decision that as a reader you find morally wrong and can not find compassion for her poor decisions. The warring thoughts and hopes that she would redeem herself keep my interest to the end. Very well developed characters.

18 people found this helpful

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  • Marissa
  • 2021-09-28

A dark and twisted view of life

I am so upset I started listening to this book. The author clearly has some kind of unresolved mental issues that she is dealing with and wrote a book so full of dysfunction, hateful actions, and pain that makes it seem like everyone in the world is fully twisted without redemption. I couldn’t get through more than a few chapters (the first 30 minutes of which were basically a giant explanation of some hills and trees) before I was so disturbed I had to turn it off.

12 people found this helpful

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  • ailey
  • 2017-10-31

Was a huge fan!

I have read many books by this author. Needless to say, I found this seriously lacking. In fact, more than disappointed. Frankly, almost disgusting. I am no prude, but this was WAY too much. I waited, hoping, to be proven true. I was wrong. I doubt I will listen nor read another book by this author.
What a waste of time and money!!!!!

9 people found this helpful

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  • C
  • 2021-10-12

illicit relationship

You lost me with the illicit sexual relationship between brother and sister. Absolutely disgusting. I wanted a love story, not incest.

8 people found this helpful