In a way, 'Tidelands' is a departure for Philippa Gregory who's most associated with writing novels about ROYAL women. Here is the tale of an ordinary woman (and her family) in the mid 1600's, living in a tiny backwater English village. Truly nothing spectacular about her life at all. In fact it's depressingly bleak. Backbreaking work, to eek out the barest of livings, and no escaping the lot her unprivileged birth status bequeaths her. Her living environment can be summed up with this one sentence:
"She gestured to the open door and the stretches of mud and slowly receding brackish water outside, as the low rumble of the tide mill started up like thunder, and there was a sudden gout of green water in the rife."
Inspires a person to pack their bags & move, right?
Despite pivoting from palaces to a less hospitable place, the book stays true to form in the way Philippa Gregory always serves up the woman's point of view and maintains her feminist roots. It's historically an overlooked perspective but one readers are lucky she champions.
Alinor (the female protagonist) is described as uncommonly beautiful, so despite her low birth position in the eyes of society, she can't escape notice by either sex. The men are interested in sampling her favors and the women are jealous & wary. Her beauty (and that of her daughters) is brought up repeatedly throughout the story. It begs a moment to ponder if beauty is an asset or a liability? Because let's face it, it can be both.
The historical time period is interesting as well. It takes place during the English Civil War, after King Charles was captured and subsequently put on trial. I didn't realize England was without a Monarch for even a short period, I definitely want to read more on that topic.
The author states that in this series the family will start in poverty but rise in fortunes. It will be interesting to follow and see how that's accomplished. How will they overcome the obstacles of a male dominated world?? Womens roles in society have evolved in a lot of ways but sadly stayed remarkably the same in others. We bear the brunt of decisions born of desire and the repercussions change the course of our lives ~ nothing's changed about that. As much as I like to read about nobility, this detour is really fascinating. 'Dark Tides' soon to be downloaded!!!!
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