Sarahrob
2nd August 2006, 15:43
Wideacre Hall, set in the heart of the English countryside, is the ancestral home that Beatrice Lacey loves. But as a woman of the 18th century, she has no right of inheritance. Corrupted by a world that mistreats women, she sets out to corrupt others.
At five years old, Beatrice is taught that she can never inherit the land she loves as it will pass to her brother, even though he appears to care little for the estate. Her response is "If it was the way of the world that girls left home and sons inherited, then the world would have to change. I would never change."
This sets the tone for the entire novel, as Beatrice plots and schemes to be squire of the land she loves, no matter what the cost is. Those schemes become increasingly outrageous (and considering they start with a murder conspiracy that is no mean feat!).
Beatrice is a fascinating character. There are shades of Catherine Earnshaw and Scarlett O’Hara in her wildness, her refusal to accept the social customs and in her masculine approach to life. In a time when women held more domestic roles, Beatrice grabs the role of squire and is determined to break free of the repression of a lady’s life.
Throughout the book I truly felt sorry for Beatrice. Such destruction, and such pointless waste just because convention dictates that women could not hold property. I couldn’t help but wonder how different things would have been had Beatrice been born later, when the estate could have legally passed to her without her having to go to the extraordinary lengths which she deemed necessary.
Even while feeling such pity for Beatrice I can appreciate she is a character who will provoke a very strong reaction. Her actions are so repulsive and her manner so calculating that it is impossible to like her.
Wideacre is not a novel for the faint hearted, but I absolutely adored it. It is a dark and gothic tale, but it is so fast paced that I was absolutely gripped, and I was sorry to finish it.
At five years old, Beatrice is taught that she can never inherit the land she loves as it will pass to her brother, even though he appears to care little for the estate. Her response is "If it was the way of the world that girls left home and sons inherited, then the world would have to change. I would never change."
This sets the tone for the entire novel, as Beatrice plots and schemes to be squire of the land she loves, no matter what the cost is. Those schemes become increasingly outrageous (and considering they start with a murder conspiracy that is no mean feat!).
Beatrice is a fascinating character. There are shades of Catherine Earnshaw and Scarlett O’Hara in her wildness, her refusal to accept the social customs and in her masculine approach to life. In a time when women held more domestic roles, Beatrice grabs the role of squire and is determined to break free of the repression of a lady’s life.
Throughout the book I truly felt sorry for Beatrice. Such destruction, and such pointless waste just because convention dictates that women could not hold property. I couldn’t help but wonder how different things would have been had Beatrice been born later, when the estate could have legally passed to her without her having to go to the extraordinary lengths which she deemed necessary.
Even while feeling such pity for Beatrice I can appreciate she is a character who will provoke a very strong reaction. Her actions are so repulsive and her manner so calculating that it is impossible to like her.
Wideacre is not a novel for the faint hearted, but I absolutely adored it. It is a dark and gothic tale, but it is so fast paced that I was absolutely gripped, and I was sorry to finish it.