“The Favored Child” by Philippa Gregory ‹ Bits

Oh! I know now. I have been a fool. I was a fool over and over in the years when I learned to be a woman. But I am no fool now.
The Favored Child (Philippa Gregory)

The Favored Child by Philippa Gregory

Book Review

Reviewed February 10, 2006
Rating: 1 stars

The first novel in the Wideacre trilogy told the story of Beatrice Lacey, the beautiful and ruthless sister of the heir to Wideacre. Beatrice’s decades of manipulation and murder ended in ruin and disgrace—the estate was burned to the ground by angry peasants, and Beatrice herself died at the hands of a vengeful lover.

In this, the second installment, we learn what happens to the Lacey heirs, Julia and Richard. Unusually for their day, they are joint heirs to the estate, an arrangement which gives Julia as much power as Richard. They have been raised as cousins, ignorant of their true heritage: they are both Beatrice’s children, the products of her long incestuous affair with her brother. Of course, secrets like this always rear their ugly heads at some point—but not always soon enough...

With a set-up like that, you’d think it would make for exciting—if not exactly cheerful—reading. Surprisingly, you’d be wrong. From the very first pages, it’s blindingly obvious where the story is headed, and it’s not a pleasant goal. Gregory’s plots rank with Hardy’s in terms of grim and unrelenting despair; compared to Julia, Tess Durbeyfield got off light. Unfortunately, the comparison to Hardy—or any other great writers—must end there. Gregory’s characters are colorful, but entirely transparent; the minute she introduces one, you know exactly how they’ll figure in the story. Many of the story’s details seem politically correct to the point of anachronism—one doesn’t expect great historical accuracy from a glorified bodice-ripper, but such things as psychotherapists seem decidedly out of place. And, quite frankly, I’m starting to wonder about Gregory’s obsession with incest. I’ve read three of her books so far, and all of them have featured incest as a prominent theme; whatever shock value the topic first held has long since been lost. Besides, any more Lacey inbreeding and the heroines won’t be slim and beautiful, they’ll be fat and cross-eyed.

Julia is the narrator and heroine—although I hesitate to apply that word to a character so spineless and indecisive. I know that she’s supposed to be the antithesis of the conniving Beatrice, but let’s face it: bad-girl evil is just more fun to read about than good-girl virtue. As a narrator, Beatrice both noted the important details and connected them in her head (and then shamelessly used them to her own advantage); Julia notes, but seems quite incapable of seeing the obvious, despite her much-vaunted psychic gifts. This makes for extremely frustrating reading, particularly where “cousin” Richard is concerned. Considering his heritage, you’d think people would be watching Richard for hints that he’d inherited his mother’s cunning; sure enough, he’s barely out of diapers before he’s committing heinous, brutal acts. But, for the sake of the plot, everyone turns a blind eye to the obvious signs and clues, especially our idiotic Julia. While I’m willing to allow a little denial just to add to the suspense, this really goes to the extreme. By the time I finished the first chapter, I was itching to smack Julia upside the head—and the itch just got stronger as the book went on.

Towards the middle of the story, Julia finally gains a bit of strength. But of course, this is a Wideacre novel, and nobody gets out happy—there’s a smackdown in Julia’s future, and a painful one it is. I knew it was coming, and I knew what it would be; by the time I got to it, however, I found myself so disgusted with the story and the characters that I gave up reading and just skimmed the last part of the book. This is a pretty big deal for me, as I usually make a point of finishing every book I start, no matter how bad it is.

Will I be reading the final installment of the Wideacre trilogy? I don’t know. On the one hand, those books are really too damn long for such silly plots. On the other hand, I hate to leave a trilogy unfinished—and it does look as if the incessant incest might finally be done with. Maybe I’ll give it a shot... or maybe I’ll just bang my head against the wall until my brains turn to mush. That’s certainly the feeling I got from reading this book.