Tidelands
THE RICHARD AND JUDY BESTSELLER
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- 7,49 €
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- 7,49 €
Publisher Description
ORDER DAWNLANDS, THE STUNNING NEW NOVEL IN THE BELOVED FAIRMILE SERIES BY INTERNATIONALLY BESTSELLING AUTHOR PHILIPPA GREGORY, OUT NOW.
'Gregory is an experienced storyteller and doesn’t let you down. Tidelands is a gripping and intelligent portrait of a woman fighting to survive in a hostile world' The Times
England 1648. A dangerous time for a woman to be different . . .
Midsummer’s Eve, 1648, and England is in the grip of civil war between renegade King and rebellious Parliament. The struggle reaches every corner of the kingdom, even to the remote Tidelands – the marshy landscape of the south coast.
Alinor, a descendant of wise women, crushed by poverty and superstition, waits in the graveyard under the full moon for a ghost who will declare her free from her abusive husband. Instead she meets James, a young man on the run, and shows him the secret ways across the treacherous marsh, not knowing that she is leading disaster into the heart of her life.
Suspected of possessing dark secrets in superstitious times, Alinor’s ambition and determination mark her out from her neighbours. This is the time of witch-mania, and Alinor, a woman without a husband, skilled with herbs, suddenly enriched, arouses envy in her rivals and fear among the villagers, who are ready to take lethal action into their own hands.
‘The first in a planned series . . . The author crafts her material with effortless ease. Her grasp of social mores is brilliant, the love story rings true and the research is, as ever, of the highest calibre' Elizabeth Buchan, Daily Mail
‘Vivid and beguiling – Philippa Gregory at her best’ Woman & Home
'A compelling novel that shines a light on the struggles of 17th century women' Daily Mirror
'The novel's power lies in Gregory's evocative portrayal of the tidelands and the everyday lives of those who are bound to them' Sunday Express
'Philippa Gregory returns with an English Civil War novel that excels in everything she does best. Historical events are written with breathless immediacy, keeping the reader enthralled even if they know the outcome. She pays close attention to the plight of women in the past, so often unchanged despite men's wars, and gives them a voice . . . Fans will not be disappointed' Alys Key, The i
'Shines a light on the struggles of 17th century women . . . If this novel is the first sign of what's to come then readers are in for a treat' Emma Lee-Potter, Daily Express
'Tidelands evokes a world of suspense and superstition. Its fascinating fictional heroine, Alinor, is caught in a net of in-between spaces . . . I was completely swept up in this wonderful, immersive story set in the English Civil War when women who lived unconventional lives risked being accused of witchcraft' Tina Jackson, Writing Magazine
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
There’s good reason why Philippa Gregory has been tagged the Queen of British historical fiction. Very few authors can match the prolific author’s startling attention to detail and beautifully atmospheric writing. Tidelands—the first in her Fairmile series—ranks as one of Gregory’s very best books. It’s set on the Sussex coast during the English Civil War in the mid 17th century and tracks a cracking female lead: Alinor, a widowed young mother and healer facing torrid accusations of witchcraft. But this is also a torrid and endlessly fascinating love story. Alinor’s life is further complicated by the arrival of a callow priest named James—in hiding as a Catholic and a Royalist spy in newly puritan England under Oliver Cromwell.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Gregory (The Other Boleyn Girl) deviates from her usual focus on historical figures to shine a light on the plight of common women in 1640s England in the dynamic first book of her new Fairmile series. Alinor, a midwife with knowledge of herbal remedies, is in difficult circumstances. Her fisherman husband has been gone for months, and she must care for herself and her two growing children during a precarious time in England's history. King Charles, forced off his throne by Parliament, has been banished to the Isle of Wight following his defeat in civil war. It's also a period when a strong woman on her own, like the beautiful Alinor who has skills that others can't understand, can easily be accused of being a witch; the author cleverly plants such seeds of suspicion throughout. At the open, Alinor meets a handsome, young Catholic priest, a royals champion with the means to help the king escape. She helps the priest find a haven, and their ensuing romance has devastating consequences for both. Against the backdrop of political turmoil, Gregory's narrative displays the harrowing mores of the time, showcasing the vulnerability of women who speak their mind and introducing a family struggling out of poverty who will provide plenty of grist for the mill of a continuing saga. History buffs and Gregory's fans alike will be anticipating the next installment.
