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This is probably my favourite book by this author. It tells the story of the town of Wide Acre and in particular of Julia Lacey who lives in the shadow of her aunt who was once the people of Wide Acre's leader but ended up destroying the town. Julia has dreams in which she is her aunt, and she also bears a striking resemblance to her. She grows up alongside her controlling younger cousin, Richard and they have promised as children that they will marry and make Wide Acre great again.
It is clear from the beginning of the book that Richard has a nasty personality, which can at first be passed off as childish bullying but continues well into his teens as his desire for his cousin grows. It is only after her forces her into carrying his child that a secret is uncovered which will change the fate of Wide Acre and of Richard's hopes forever.
The growth of Richard's character is done extremely well, from a child who seems to like bullying, to a teenager who hides behind a facade of goodness to an adult who will get whatever he wants. What can first be passed off as childish cruelty becomes suspicion of wrongdoing to the reader until it becomes clear what Richard's true intentions are. Similarly Julia's adoration for her younger cousin becomes damaging when she cannot find the strength to tell anyone what Richard has done to her or what she has been tricked into.
This story is as much one of love as one of extreme sadness with an emergence of hope. It shows the capability of humans to do great good as well as great evil.
Surprisingly I only read this book recently even though it is the most famous of Philippa Gregory's works and has recently had a movie made about it. I have read two other Philippa Gregory books: The Queen's Fool and The Boleyn Inheritance. She seems to favour historical romances, and this book is no exception.
I always enjoy reading about Henry VIII and his six wives, not only because of the scandalous nature of the whole facade but also because it surprises me how people continued to crave this King's favour right until he died on his sixth wife. As with all Gregory's works, there is of course an element of fiction to add to the story. Not all of this history is known for obvious reasons (it has been a few centuries). The romance in this story was enjoyable as it was not the romance (or lack thereof) with the King, but instead something that seemed really charming, next to the affair
Mary Boleyn was forced to have with the King. In the book, (and I have no idea if this actually happened) Mary, ignoring the wishes of her family finally gets the guts to go to the man she loves. Awww!
Okay now that I've gotten over my romantic notions, as well as enjoying the plot of this book the writing was also great, it kept me wanting to read the book all the way through and heightened my historical interest as well. I guess the only criticism I would have is that some people take this book a bit too seriously and think everything it says as historical fact. That's not really a criticism of the book though, more of some people who read it. I would highly recommend this book to anyone, even if you don't have a particular interest in England's history it's still a lovely and sad story. I haven't seen the movie but I've heard it's not as good as the book, it does have Natalie Portman as Anne Boleyn though and I love Natalie Portman! Scarlett Johansson is also pretty cool.
