Tidelands

Philippa Gregory

Aug 2019 · The Fairmile Series Book 1 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

This New York Times bestseller from “one of the great storytellers of our time” (San Francisco Book Review) turns from the glamour of the royal courts to tell the story of an ordinary woman, Alinor, living in a dangerous time for a woman to be different.

A country at war
A king beheaded
A woman with a dangerous secret

On Midsummer’s Eve, Alinor waits in the church graveyard, hoping to encounter the ghost of her missing husband and thus confirm his death. Until she can, she is neither maiden nor wife nor widow, living in a perilous limbo. Instead she meets James, a young man on the run. She shows him the secret ways across the treacherous marshy landscape of the Tidelands, not knowing she is leading a spy and an enemy into her life.

England is in the grip of a bloody civil war that reaches into the most remote parts of the kingdom. Alinor’s suspicious neighbors are watching each other for any sign that someone might be disloyal to the new parliament, and Alinor’s ambition and determination mark her as a woman who doesn’t follow the rules. They have always whispered about the sinister power of Alinor’s beauty, but the secrets they don’t know about her and James are far more damning. This is the time of witch-mania, and if the villagers discover the truth, they could take matters into their own hands.

“This is Gregory par excellence” (Kirkus Reviews). “Fans of Gregory’s works and of historicals in general will delight in this page-turning tale” (Library Journal, starred review) that is “superb… A searing portrait of a woman that resonates across the ages” (People).

Ratings and reviews

TIDELANDS is the first in a series of historical fiction novels from the prolific Philippa Gregory, perhaps best known for her historical novels about royal figures (i.e. THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL and THE WHITE QUEEN among many others). The series will trace one family’s story across 250 years of history, primarily focused on the role of women who so often get short shrift in historical works. (Volume two, DARK TIDES, is scheduled for publication in November 2020.). This completely absorbing book is a very promising start! Set in the mid-1600s in a small seaside village in England, it’s the story of Alinor, a woman raising two children alone after her husband abandons them. Alinor is a struggling herbalist and midwife who serves her neighbors faithfully though barely managing to feed her family. Locally, everyone is gossiping about the dispute between Parliament, King Charles I, and the army of Roundheads — wondering whether the King will actually face charges for threatening the people of his own realm. This is, of course, the beginning of the English Revolution. But that story serves only as a backdrop to the real story of life in a small village. A chance encounter with a priest at the start of the story changes Alinor’s life, providing new possibilities for both her and her children. Her gifted son Rob may be able to advance his studies with the priest while her ambitious daughter Alys determines to marry the heir to a prosperous local farm. Even if my description sounds a bit mundane, I found the story riveting, with a couple of dramatic twists near the end that were unexpected, and a cliffhanger ending. Plus, it’s a chance to learn about the daily lives of women during this period, the small-minded suspicions imposed on a single mother (especially one with beauty), and the ways that fortune and chance can impact lives for both good and ill. I simply can’t wait for the next installment.

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About the author

Philippa Gregory is the author of many New York Times bestselling novels, including The Other Boleyn Girl, and is a recognized authority on women’s history. Many of her works have been adapted for the screen including The Other Boleyn Girl. She graduated from the University of Sussex and received a PhD from the University of Edinburgh, where she is a Regent. She holds honorary degrees from Teesside University and the University of Sussex. She is a fellow of the Universities of Sussex and Cardiff and was awarded the 2016 Harrogate Festival Award for Contribution to Historical Fiction. She is an honorary research fellow at Birkbeck, University of London. She was awarded a CBE title for services to literature and charity in 2022. She welcomes visitors to her website PhilippaGregory.com.