Fascinating, gripping, sexual, sensuous, grim, incestuous, a little mysterious, horrifying, unrelenting despair (and by comparison, I think Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbeyvilles got off light)—if these adjectives don't discourage you away from this love-it-or-hate-it book, you're in for a real ride. Philippa Gregory's "The Favored Child" was written so expertly it did not depend too heavily on "Wideacre" (the first book of her trilogy) ... I know this because I did not read the first book, but I don't recommend doing the same—back story is so very important. So, here's the setup from book two.Beatrice MacAndrew and Harry Lacey are brother and sister from the chalky village in Sussex; Beatrice married Dr. John MacAndrew and Harry married Celia Havering. The villagers came after Beatrice(who went crazy and ruined the viallage), but it's The Culler, Ralph Megson, who killed her so the angry villagers burned Wideacre Hall; John Lacey died (from a weak hear); John MacAndrew left for India; that left Celia Lacey to raise the two children, Julia Lacey and her cousin Richard MacAndrew, and to protect them from a family secret—they're sibbling/cousins. BUT, we know Gregory...she's a master a putting a spin on crazy yams and a master of despair and lonely...and in The Favored Child, she kept thinking up all kinds of horrible things that could happen to Julia and Richard and throwing them into the plot. And, like most of Gregory's novels, this one was loooooooong (614 pages) and fulllll of detail. Julia's misery just goes on and on and on and Gregory really had me anxious for the end. I don't care how long it was, it was well written...but, there were a few points (like psychotherapists) and some words that seemed decidedly out of place, And while Gregory’s characters are colorful, I found them entirely transparent; the minute she introduces one, you know exactly how they are going to figure in the story. And, I had to remind myself this is an historical novel and consider the time and how women were seen and treated because I really wanted to whomp Julia (and her mother) up side of the head so many, many, many times for being such a wimp.How in the world could Celia live with these kids 24/7 and not feel what way the wind was blowing? She was in such complete denial that I sat here thinking hello...get a clue. Because we learn right away that little Richard doesn't like being in second place, so while he makes Julia miserable with his bullying, telling his cousin not to put herself forward because it's unwomanly and who does she think she is anyway, he's winning the heart of the cook and pulling the wool over his Mama-Aunt Celia's eyes. And I wanted to pull every hair out of Celia's pretty head when she continues being completely oblivious to all the goings on since...she's busy stitching the linens together.Since Beatrice ruined everything and their house burned down, they're kind of poor and are forced to live in the dower house; but they're not as poor as the people of Acre who don't have money or food or clothing and have their children taken away to work in factories. But, there's always hope; right? And Acre village is waiting for "The Favored Child" of Beatrice's blood to make everything better. BUT... they are joint heirs to the estate, an arrangement that gives Julia as much power as Richard and they are raised as cousins, ignorant of their true heritage (and so is Celia).Since Richard is Beatrice's child, he would be the obvious choice. However, Richard isn't just a bully to Julia, the villagers hate that guy AND the animals hate him, which if you watch horror movies is a bad, bad sign, and he loves the land, but in a possessive way and yearns to be its sole squire. ALSO, his crimes get more and more outrageous as he matures and the book progresses.Julia, Beatrice's other child, on the other hand, loves the land and is nice to people and animals, so everyone wants her to be the new squire. Plus, she inherited the Lacey Land Lust and thinks Wideacre is the Bestest Place on Earth. And, Julia has also inherited the sight.To add another twist (and side story), Richard's dad, Dr. John MacAndrew (name is from page 2, "Beatrice's husband, Dr. John MacAndrew, went away to India..."), returns from India with enough money to get Wideacre out of the hole, build a new house, grow crops, and buy the family nice things again. Yay! Everything is coming up roses! No!!!John hires Ralph Megson (readers of Wideacre will recognize him as Beatrice's gypsy lover) as the property manager and is totally clueless that he was The Culler from the last book..the one who brought Beatrice to her doom. Ralph tells Julia who he is and she's all oh, no, but doesn't tell anyone because the villagers really like him and she's not the one who rocks any boat. And we, the reader, like him because he really not a bad guy for a murdering Beatrice...right? He has a feeling about Julia and when she gets The Sight and saves the village, he's 100% in her corner. Unfortunately, Julia's family is not cool with her new-found talent and they send her off to Bath a doctor who brainwashes her but she still manages to find a nice normal life with friends and a man who loves her and who she loves.... BUT, don't all good things come to an end? Well, when she and her mother return to Wideacre, the shit hits the fan. Because they learn they're both Beatrice’s children, the products of her long incestuous affair with her brother. Don't secrets like this always rear their ugly heads at some point — just not soon enough...This story is NOT for the weak of heart... let me say to anyone who hasn't read this book, be prepared to feel pretty miserable as you read the last chapters of this book— poor Julia's life is so burdened with tragedy, abuse, and misfortune that you can't help but feel affected.CLUE: read those adjectives at the beginning of this review again...carefully.
This book took a bit for me to get into at first. The first book in this trilogy (Wideacre), was just so intense that I actually had to read a couple of other books in between before I was ready to continue on. I should also add, that seeing as this is book two, if you have not read book one, you probably shouldn't read on, as it will spoil the ending of Wideacre. I was so upset at the ending of Wideacre, when Beatrice died. Aside from her gross love affairs with her idiot brother, I really loved Beatrice as a character, and even started routing for her near the end when it was obvious that she was not going to survive the riot attack. I thought that no other Lacey would ever compare to her, and that is why the second book took me a while to warm too... my favourite character was gone. But as the story progressed, and it became clear that Julia was indeed the "favored child" I became interested once again. So this story is all about Julia and Richard, the illegitimate bastard children of Beatrice and Harry Lacey. They do not know that they are brother and sister, and are brought up by Celia Lacey as cousins. During childhood Julia is a sweet and caring child, whose main ambition in life is to earn smiles from her mama. Richard on the other hand, shows disturbing signs of being cruel and sadistic person. He bullies his cousin Julia, and enjoys being able to smile and charm anyone he wants. As these two grow up, it becomes clear who the favored child is. Julia begins to have dreams of Beatrice, (sometimes even becoming Beatrice herself) and has the same tenderness and need to be on the land of Wideacre. Richard, surprisingly, does not inherit anything from Beatrice. Some might argue his capacity for evil came from her, but I would not agree. Beatrice would NEVER abuse an animal, let alone kill one in the most painful way possible. Animals loved Beatrice. Animals fear Richard. He does not inherit her ability to ride. He is truly rotten to the core; what I had always pictured an incestuous child to be. Julia inherits all of Beatrice's good traits; none of her evil ones. In that, she is the Beatrice Beatrice should have grown up to be. She earns the respect of the Acre village, and earns the knowledge to bring the land to life.An interesting character that I did not see coming back into the story was Ralph Megson, Beatrice's lover/killer. I really don't know how I feel about this guy. He is portrayed as a savior and a good person, but let us not forget that it was he who killed Beatrice's beloved father in the very first few pages of the first book. He was the catalyst that brought Beatrice into making the choices she made. Ralph also murdered Beatrice. He then comes back into this second book and befriends Julia, and tries to erase the line between the Quality, and the poor. So I have mixed feelings about this guy. I wonder if he is going to make an appearance in the final book.So the final moments in the book were pretty intense. Richards confessions to all his evil deeds in childhood were never a mystery to the reader, but it definitely felt good to hear them voiced to Julia because she was a bit naive in everything Richard. Julia definitely made me angry on several occasions for being too stupid and gullible to realize that Richard was to blame. Especially the way she let him ruin her in the Summertime house. And how she allowed him to come between her and James. Holy crap that made me angry!!!All in all though, very good book. I think I may have even enjoyed it more than the first one. This one in particular reminded me very slightly of the Gemma Doyle series, especially when Julia went to have her season in Bath, and was fighting with her premonitions and Sight. Love all these characters, whether they are naive and gullible, or vile and evil. The plots are plausible and believable and that is really important to me.
What do You think about The Favored Child (2003)?
OMG, I just overwrote my review for this one with ANOTHER review. *headdesk headdesk headdesk* Fuck it, I'm not rewriting it. So Review 2.0 will just be a series of incoherent ramblings written against the deadline of my laptop battery cacking on me.* OMG, the gloomz & doomz in this one got me down, but not as much if I hadn't previously read The Girl From Storyville where the heroine also made all kinds of decisions that screwed her life six ways from Sunday, AND The Women of Eden which had a main character who was also an insane, manipulative, control freak that brought down misery on everyone around him. The Favored Child had BOTH of these types of characters, and so my Rage-O-Meter was at a full tilt boogie for most of the book. Could a book be any more emotional, rage-inducing, and a rocket ride? If so, I think I need a couple years off before I'd be mentally able to process it.* Even though Julia Lacey ranks right up there as the doormattiest of doormatty heroines, I couldn't really hate her since she was raised to be a doormat by those who had it entirely within their power to make her strong and prepared to face whatever problems she might encounter due to her birth. Rather than take a sledgehammer to Julia, I wanted to throttle Celia and John instead. They despised anything that reminded them of Beatrice, even the good traits that Julia inherited from her mother. They could have also prevented any incest from Julia and Richard taking place, but it was their refusal to dwell on it - or at least admit it openly - that let things snowball. Celia's delusion that she didn't know reminded me so much of someone I read talking about the abuse in their childhood and that "My mother didn't know that she knew." So Celia's self-delusion, while indeed knowing, really had the ring of truth to it.* I totally feel Phillipa Gregory has cast-iron nads for making her characters so miserable for the long haul. So many authors come across as being so attached and partial to their characters that they can't stand to see them miserable or upset for more than a few pages. So the story ends up seeming like a series of little bumps and tidy resolutions. But Gregory - and Marilyn Harris - throw the reader in the car and take them through a long and winding ride through a scaryass forest with grasping ghoulies pawing at the windows and made you glad to reach the other end alive and grateful that it was just fiction.* The last page doesn't fill me with hope that the final book in the trilogy will be a light-hearted chucklefest, so my solution for the parasitic symbiosis that is The Lacey Family ruling Wideacre and Acre Village:
—Karla
The Favored Child. It was the 2nd book in a trilogy. I have since read the 1st book- Widacre and the 3rd- Meridon. Ok...so the 1st and 2nd books were very annoying because you just HATE everyone in it. They basically make the same mistakes over and over proving that they are all idiots....who love incest apparently...anyway, the 3rd book was a little better b/c it was different than the first two and actually came to a resolution that wasn't totally idiotic as previous generations....plus no incest, thank goodness. Maybe it was just that the trilogy was ending that made it better. I don't think that I would recommend these books to anyone. They are stressful to read. Unless you enjoy yelling at the books you read, skip these 3.
—Paula
I thought it was time to pick up another Philippa Gregory book. I truely am a fan, however, am feeling a little guilty. This is the 2nd book in a trilogy about eighteenth century England and the Wideacre estate. I love reading about this time period. Ms. Gregory has a theme of incest in the first and now the second book, thus my guilt. Putting that aside, it is quite high in drama and tells the story of 2 young children who think they are cousins, promise to marry each other (but are forbidden by their "parents") & both in line as equal inheritants to the Wideacre estate. They become rivals for the love and affection of the village people who serve the Wideacre estate and this escalates into deperate acts of all kinds of nasty stuff. I grew to absolutely hate Richard, the brother and the book became a page turner to find out when he gets his just desserts. No death would have been too bad for him. How awful.
—Julia
