WIDEACRE

by Philippa Gregory ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1986

The gore-splashed, snarly saga of beautiful Beatrice, daughter of the Squire of Wideacre in 18th-century England. Beatrice's long list of deep-sixing achievements--murder, maiming, persecution of the innocent, incest and other steamy etceteras--are tossed off for one purpose only: to control and secure for herself and children the beloved estate of Wideacre, slated to be delivered into the unworthy hands of male heirs only. And hell hath no fury like Beatrice the Bad. Beatrice tells her very own story, beginning with happy canters with Father over the expanse of Wideacre. But Father will discount Beatrice's management savvy and love of the land in order to favor Harry, Beatrice's weak, damnably inheriting brother. Father, though, has sealed his doom--thanks to a pact with ambitious Ralph, Beatrice's teen-age farmboy lover. As for Ralph, Beatrice will (literally) cut him off at the knees. Now on to Harry. Incest is rousing fun as well as sensible for control of Wideacre. But what of Beatrice's resulting pregnancies? Handling Edith, Harry's shy little wife, is a breeze, and then there's marriage to Dr. John MacAndrew. But Mother knows too much. Oh dear, Beatrice's work is never done. There'll be more expedient horrid deeds--but wait! Who's that legless man on a black, black horse? First-novelist Gregory stirs up more ick and yuck than sympathy for Beatrice, although there's some moral here about what happens when the double standard short-circuits. However, Gregory has mastered that thunderbolt confessional style that promises much for a future of fat, sensation-flecked period romances, belted and spurred.

Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1986

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1986

Categories: FICTION