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

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

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

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

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

Terrible

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

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!

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)

good

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

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.