The Wideacre Trilogy

For a few years now I have been pestering my friend Angie to let me borrow her Wideacre Trilogy by Phillipa Gregory. And when I say borrow, I mean loan to me for an undetermined amount of time or possibly let me keep your books. She adamantly refused to do so since she liked the books so much. She finally broke down and bought me the trilogy for my Christmas present last year. And now here it is June and I finally have finished the series.

Wideacre is the first book in the trilogy. And what a way to kick off a trilogy! Wideacre is the story of Beatrice Lacey. Beatrice loves her family's estate Wideacre but she knows she cannot inherit the land because she is not a boy and this is England in the Georgian Age. But Beatrice is the true Squire of Wideacre and she will do ANYTHING to make sure that Wideacre is passed onto her children, whether they be male or female.

I had a hard time with this book. I won't give away any plot points but Beatrice is one of the least sympathetic characters I have ever read. Ever. She is so mad for her land that she allows nothing and no one to stand in her way. Honestly, I often wished for Beatrice to be foiled because I couldn't stand her.

The Favored Child is the second book in this trilogy. The Favored Child picks up where Wideacre left off. This book tells the story of Julia and Richard, the children of Beatrice Lacey. From the get go you realize that Beatrice has unwittinly set her children up to be rivals because Julia can inherit the land. As Julia and Richard grow, it is Julia who truly holds the hearts and minds of the people of Wideacre. She has dreams of Beatrice on the land and desires of running Wideacre with the people and not by lording over the people of Wideacre.

Once again, men seem to thwart everything. But I am not so sure that Julia doesn't allow herself to be manipulated in this story just a wee bit. I actually liked this book much better than Wideacre and I really enjoyed the town/gown interaction with Julia's best friend being a poor village girl.

Meridon is the final book in the trilogy. Meridon is the daughter of Julia Lacey. But she is not raised as a Lacey due to circumstances that I will not divulge, in case you want to read the books. Alas, Meridon finally comes to Wideacre but she has a hard time adjusting to the wealthy life. Will Meridon follow the wishes left by her mother or will she follow the way of Bearice Lacey?





Books Read in 2008:

Meridon by Philippa Gregory
The Favored Child by Philippa Gregory
Wideacre by Philippa Gregory
Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
Girl at Sea by Maureen Johnson
Into the Wild by John Krakauer
Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray
River Secrets by Shannon Hale
The House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III
Feed by M.T. Anderson
Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade by Diana Gabaldon
The Attack by Yasmina Khadra
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
She Went All the Way by Meg Cabot
Dramarama by E. Lockhart
Rebel Angels by Libba Bray
Princess Mia by Meg Cabot
Pants on Fire by Meg Cabot
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
Fly on the Wall by E. Lockhart
Stowaway by Karen Hesse
The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart.
Spike: Asylum by Brian Lynch and Franco Urru