The Favored Child: A Novel (2) (The Wideacre Trilogy)

Other readers have complained about the incest, rape, abuse etc. And yes: Julia seemed really blind to what was going on, and why in the *** did she not immediately report the rape? I actually do find it hard to understand when women don't report these things. This character certainly was conflicted. I suppose when you grow up in an isolated farm with no one except your cousin for company, you could develop an unnatural bond with them.There were some really cliche elements in this book, like Julia's relationship with Acre and the whole 'magical harvest queen' stuff. Then there are ALWAYS Gypsies around to help with your plot points. Kind of a 'paint by numbers' plot. And the most annoying part was the over & over-description of the landscape, trees, etc. I love Nature, but I have trouble plowing through descriptions for pages at a time.Anyway despite all of my complaints, I found it a compelling read, and will read the 3rd book.

This is not her usual type of novel.This came from her mind. Her characters were always what you expected them to be. The mean evil characters were very evil.

Great follow up to the first book in the trilogy. The first one had racy, unexpected parts to the story and this one kept that pace. It was easy to read and kept my attention. What more could I ask of a book.

...only because I couldn't stand reading about the abuse the protagonist tolerated and how she kept going back for more.She had so many opportunities to get it right and break the cycle, and each time, she went back for more.I LOVE Philippa Gregory's writings and pre-order every one that gets published--but this one made me upset and frustrated and I cannot say it was enjoyable. The part that I still did appreciate was Gregory's portrayal of customs of the time, including the vocabulary that was common then.Yes, I know that for that era, women's "rights" were non-existent, but since it's historical fiction, I would still prefer to read about a female character that rose above those challenges instead of reading about how she went back for more over and over again.

I LOVE this author and purchase her books whenever they are on sale, borrowing many from my public library as well. I was underwhelmed by this book. It was almost as though it was written by someone else, usually I am swept away into another world by Ms. Gregory's books and cannot put them down... I had to force myself to pick this one up. The main character was nothing like other Ms. Gregory had written, and I'll admit I gave up and I'll return to this book at a later time. I was that underwhelmed.

Jumping into another installment of the Wideacre trilogy and I wasn't disappointed. Julia has all the beautiful sides of Beatrice that were hidden and destroyed with her obsession. While Richard is full of the evil, manipulative, possessive, insane, sickening, twisted side multiplied. Just when everything is changing and becoming new and wonderful, he changes it all for the worst and destroys everything forever. If only... sometimes I wished for Julia to show a little more of the strong woman her mother was, but really I'm just amazed and in awe how through it all she didn't let any of it turn her into the same evil as her brother. She showed strength in endurance and determination. Ralph's return... as a grown up man having gone through much in the world...I think he learned something from the mistakes with Beatrice. Not that he regretted what he did in any way. Maybe it's strange to wish that things could have been different with him and Julia. John and Celia... my heart aches for them. The best thing that could have, should have happened is Richard should never have been born. But then there wouldn't have been this amazing second story about courage and corruption. Again I'm floored and just getting crazier about Wideacre!

This is a good story but MS. Gregory makes her point and then makes it again and yet again and again. The book could have been edited down to half of its actual length and it would have been a better story. I was disappointed in the ending which was bleak and left much unresolved.

So, yes, I read the whole book. 600+ pages of both the first & second book. Read the 2nd one in about a week. I couldn't put it down. Both were very depressing and the second made me want to scream and shake Julia by the shoulders. These were the longest books and the worst stories that I absolutely had to finish...and ordered the last in the series. (will start that one today) The books are really well written and suck you in. So even though the stories were awful and depressing and nothing good was ever happening...you could count on that as you read, I had to finish the whole book and couldn't put it down. Would I recommend the series? No. She has written so many better books. But, if you start reading it, you will read all of them. They are like driving by a car crash...you just can't help but look. Really makes me wonder about the author if these were her first novels. It really is disturbing and depressing material. Still love her writing style, just wish these would have been a little more uplifting instead of tragic.

My knee replacement was a bit complicated due to a slight infection which led me onto have first a splint fitted on leg, followed by a cast on leg and then another splint. As this hampered my movement recovery i spent hours on the sofa with my leg up reading one book after another. It's good that Philippa is such a wonderful story teller that even after 6 weeks, i was so hooked on finding out what happened next, it didn't matter too much that i was stuck indoors. Long may she continue to write. Just love her books.

The first book in this series, Wideacre, absolutely blew me away. It was amazing. Perhaps my expectations were too high but I was disappointed in the sequel, The Favoured Child.Julia and Richard have been brought up as cousins and joint heirs to the Wideacre estate. But what dark secrets lie in their past? If you've read Wideacre then you know. If you read The Favoured Child as a standalone novel then you don't - but it works either way. The historical setting of rural England at the turn of the 19th century, its rampant poverty, class and gender injustice is captured superbly. Five stars to Philippa Gregory for that. Gregory's descriptions of the Sussex countryside are also stunning and make the book worth reading for this alone.Where this book fails overall though, I think, is in the narration. The first novel, Wideacre, is told through the viewpoint of the villainess, Beatrice, and she is thoroughly convincing and very real. The Favoured Child is told through Julia's narration and the villain, Richard, seen only through her eyes. We hear nothing of his thoughts and motivations. Consequently I found him quite unconvincing and implausible. He's almost a stereotypical villain. There are, furthermore, no plot twists (not, at least, if you have read the prequel) or major surprises.It's a decent, but not great read. Skip this one and read Wideacre instead, if you haven't already.

Having read Wideacre, I was curious to know what happened next. I shouldn't have bothered. All the things that irritated me about Wideacre featured even more in the 2nd part of the trilogy. Paragraphs and paragraphs of unnecessary content, a ridiculous plot line and characterisations that simply beggared belief. Is the author obsessed with rape and incest? I didn't bother to finish The Favoured Child. Instead I googled a summary and read that. I would recommend to potential readers to do the same for the Wideacre trilogy so that you can make far better use of the time you would otherwise spend on ploughing through it.

The book is a great read i loved the trilogy, first read the paperbacks, after a few years decided i would like to read again so bought the hardback copies, however very dissapointed as the books are used, dusty covers, discoloured pages, very tatty, will not be buying from this seller again

This is a thoroughly enjoyable pageturner. If you enjoyed the first book, this second part will not disappoint. I’ll definitely get volume three.