Rating: 
Summary: Wow - this is one amazing book!
Review: I just have to say first that this book is always put into the romance section in book stores - and I feel that is very wrong. This novel is erotic - but it is by no means a romance. Anyone looking for a happy book with a tidy conclusion had better look elsewhere! This novel tells the story of Beatrice Lacey, a young lady of the 18th century who realizes at a young age that the only things she wants out of life are "land and loving." Yet as she is a girl, Beatrice is destined to be denied owning the land she loves - the Wideacre estate of the title. Beatrice's struggle to possess Wideacre - which often leads her into dark and evil things - is the main subject of this book. Yet it also packs a few feminist punches, gives the reader grand descriptions of life in England during the 18th century, and introduces one of the most appealing heroes in all historical fiction. Those who read the book without falling in love with Ralph have problems! The two next books in the series are a delight as well! Read it now!
Rating: 
Summary: not great, but ok
Review: This book would be great if the main charater,Beatrice, wasn't so annoying, selfish and all-around crazy. I mean don't get me wrong, Philippa Gregory is a great author and I like all of her other books that she's written but Beatrice is just so evil. I mean who would destroy her reputation, murder(more then one person), and destroy a whole peice of land just to save it?? I don't expect every heroine to be like Jane Eyre, but I don't think that Beatrice even deserves the title of "heroine".
Now, the other charaters are great, the story line is good, the setting is perfect, but I just wanted to throw the book across the room whenever Beatrice came on the page. It gives me shivers to think about what she did to her people and land. I'm sorry if I sound really negitive, but even though I liked the book I really didn't like the main charater and that's never good.
Rating: 
Summary: Lackluster Novel from a Terrific Writer
Review: I have always enjoyed Philippa Gregory's writing. After reading The Other Boleyn Girl and The Queen's Fool, I wondered how I could go wrong with her other efforts. I went very wrong.The premise of Wideacre is innocent enough. A young girl, Beatrice Lacey, is in love with her family land and wishes to inherit it. INstead, she is stuck in a time when men were the rulers and women barely got to go to the bathroom by themselves. Her brother, a whiny boy, isn't in love with the land and lacks the compassion and knowledge of it like Beatrice. Sounds simple enough. Here's where it goes haywire. Beatrice and her brother begin to lust after one another. Beatrice discovers that he has an odd penchant for violent behavior, especially if it is directed at him. She learns this and uses it to her advantage by seducing and beating him, all the while his idiot wife doesn't have a clue. But then Beatrice falls in love, but is afraid to relinquish control over her brother, lest he ship her off and try to run the land himself. That's just the tip of hte iceberg. What follows is lots of incest, illegitimate incest children, passing of pregnancies, committing a sane husband into an insane asylum after giving birth to yet another bastard child. It reads as a sad, cheap soap opera, such a disappointment from such a wonderful author. It is over the top, and not at all amusing.
Rating: 
Summary: wicked woman!
Review: Philippa Gregory sure has a knack of creating wicked passionate women. Beatrice Lacey is one such woman. Born and bred at Wideacre she is held in high esteem by the village people, her father and all who surround her. Unfortunately, despite how much she is loved and belongs to and at Wideacre, it can never be hers, because she is a woman. She decides to make it hers, no matter the cost. She plays all the other characters in the book against each other, seeing them only as how they can serve her purpose. Through the book she changes Wideacre and the people that inhabit it, for the worse, but can see no other way. And when victory comes, it is very shallow indeed. Beatrice is not a nice person. But she is a powerful and passionate woman who refuses to obey anyone but her dreams, and l admire her for that. I had to laugh when an earlier reviewer stated that Beatrice was despicable and only finished the book to see if she got her "comeuppance". The books is over 600 pages, so it's an awful long wait! Another good recommendation is Philippa Gregory's "Wise Woman".
Rating:
Summary: Unpleasant woman
Review: This woman needs prozac!!Not only is she obsessive she is a pscyopath (that is nuts to those of you who can spell).To be this obsessed with a particular peice of land is entirely unnatural and I find it impossible to relate to her poor, pitiful problems. But the object lesson the author is trying to teach is the unpleasant truth of 18th century English inheritance laws. There are many repetitive passages about her full lips and swirling,falling,curling, auburn, tresses and rustling of her silk riding skirts, and much admiring her self in the mirror; all observed from Beatrice's point of view. Makes for very flat secondary characters. I agree with another reader that VC Andrews is better at this sort of thing.I would not read another book in this series, but her book about Anne Boelyn was very good.
Rating:
Summary: The Perfect Historical Romance Novel!
Review: I fell in love with this book and read the subsequent 2 others in the trilogy as soon as I could find them. I'm glad they are in print again as Ms Gregory's books are sometimes hard to come by. Wideacre is hauntingly beautiful and full of twists and turns. Her knowlege of the history in which she writes is amazing. If you don't care for the typical historical romance ie; bodice rippers, this won't disappoint. It goes to the heart of history and weaves it into an exciting, great tale.
Rating:
Summary: Tiresome
Review: I have nothing against antiheros or evil characters, but I absolutely hated this book. In Beatrice Lacey, Philippa Gregory gives us an utterly unlikable heroine, one completely lacking in redeeming values. As a result, the book becomes a depressing slog through one predictable mess after another. Every time Beatrice is presented with two possible courses of action -- one that will spare herself and others pain, and one that will cause more pain and loss, she chooses evil, even when the kinder choice would also be better for her, practically speaking. After a while, this gets terribly boring -- the reader doesn't know exactly what horrible situation will arise next, but he or she can rest assured that Beatrice will make the worst of it. Frankly, a character this one-dimensional is just no fun. I found myself wishing her ex-lover would just come back and kill her already so the book could end (I'm not giving anything away here. It's clear almost from the outset how things will end).
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: This book is written with some of the best description and carefully crafted detail I've stumbled upon yet. The story takes place in a wonderfully beautiful era, the Georgian era, right before Regency- long before women had even begun to think of having rights such as suffrage. Beatrice Lacey narrates the story of Wideacre, and while the story takes place on her home, the estate of Wideacre, the story is about Beatrice's struggles to possess her one love- the land of Wideacre. Beatrice is a passionate, often violent young woman who wants to own Wideacre, but as a woman, she cannot. Her greed and sensuality lead her to do anything to possess Wideacre- including murder. Despite Beatrice being a manipulative, greedy person, the reader cannot help sympasizing with her situation. Just as viewers everywhere both at once hated and loved Scarlet O'Hara, so will readers feel the same conflicting emotions with the heroine of this story. I also wanted to mention that it is true that there is quite a bit of sexuality in this book, and most of it is unconventional. I noticed that many of the other reviewers were disturbed by this prospect, however, if you prefer non cliches, passion, and interesting characters in absorbing situations, then this is the book for you! I think it is ignorant to be repulsed by incest when comparing our own time period in the second millenium to the late 17th century. Rules were different then, and I advise readers to view this book for a Georgian-era story, and not see it as 'disgusting' because incest is considered disgusting nowadays. I highly recommend this book as a fast-paced, absorbing read with beautiful description and fascinating characters whom are not always easy to empathize with, but who are always interesting! A very enjoyable read!
Rating: 
Summary: Well written, poorly executed
Review: The author's writing style is near flawless. With great imagery and poetic description, one feels drawn into the land. Unfortunately, the character of Beatrice leaves much to be desired. She's an anti-heroine through and through. She knows what she wants (Wideacre) and she'll resort to any means necessary to keep it. As a regular person, she's hard to related to and you find yourself so drawn into her lies and manipulative actions, that you become frustrated with the character and the situations. Yes, there is incest in the book. It's pretty needless and this is one of the reasons why I will not read the other novels in this trilogy. Another reason is because of Beatrice's deeds, I lost a sense of connection with the Laceys. The only comfort found in this novel is from the secondary characters, who also become twisted by Beatrice. I found the conclusion of the story satisfying.
Rating:
Summary: If it had been written poorly, t would have gotten 0 stars.
Review: I can only say after reading these books that I am glad that I read "The Queen's Fool" and "The Other Bolyn Girl" first. If I hadn't, nothing could have inspired me to pick up another of this author's books. Although they are beautifully written, the characters are thoroughly unlikable and unbelievable. The story lines are trite and predictable. In this trilogy, the author has seemed to forget the tales' integrity and instead gone for shock value. Most of the characters in these books just need to be slapped or put out of their misery. If you like drama-queen stories intended to shock, I would suggest reading any book by V.C. Andrews rather than this trilogy. At least most of the characters in the V.C. Andrews books cannot do anything to improve their situations merely by standing up and being human. I have always said that no book read is a waste of time. I am sad to say I was wrong. These books have wasted valuable time that I could have spent on something more worthwhile. I would recommend to ANY reader 2 Other books by this author, and those would be the aforementioned "The Queen's Fool" and "The Other Boleyn Girl." Both are great reads and worth 5 stars--more if it were possible to rate them that highly.
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