Reissue of the third volume in the Wideacre Trilogy, the bestselling novels that launched the career of Philippa Gregory. Meridon, a desolate Romany girl, is determined to escape the hard poverty of her childhood. Riding bareback in a travelling show, while her sister Dandy risks her life on the trapeze, Meridon dedicates herself to freeing them both from danger and want. But Dandy, beautiful, impatient, thieving Dandy, grabs too much, too quickly. And Meridon finds herself alone, riding in bitter grief through the rich Sussex farmlands towards a house called Wideacre -- which awaits the return of the last of the Laceys. Sweeping, passionate, unique: 'Meridon' completes Philippa Gregory's bestselling trilogy which began with 'Wideacre' and continued with 'The Favoured Child'.

About the Author

Philippa Gregory is an established writer and broadcaster for radio and television. She holds a PhD in eighteenth-century literature from the University of Edinburgh. She lives in the North of England with her family.

Prizes

Reissue of the third volume in the Wideacre Trilogy, the bestselling novels that launched the career of Philippa Gregory. / Philippa Gregory is now one of the most successful historical novelists writing today. / 'The Other Boleyn Girl' has now sold nearly 350,000 copies in paperback. / 'The Virgin's Lover' has sold 50,000 hardback copies to date and has been a bestseller in the UK, the US, and Number One in New Zealand. / Film versions of 'The Other Boleyn Girl' and 'The Queen's Fool' are in development. / Now reissued in a sumptuous new package. / The author is well known for her appearances on TV, as a Tudor expert and a regular on Time Team, and her frequent participation on Radio 4's Round Britian Quiz / Competition: Hilary Mantel, Deborah Moggach, Reay Tannahill

Reviews

Released in 1989, 1990, and 1987, respectively, these are the three volumes of the author's "Wideacre Trilogy." Set in England, this long, sweeping soap opera revolves around the women of the Wideacre estate, their lives and loves, triumphs and tragedies. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Praise for 'Meridon': 'Compelling! Philippa Gregory reigns supreme as the mistress of historical drama.' Today 'Subtle and exciting.' Daily Express Praise for 'Wideacre': 'Written from instinct, not out of calculation, and it shows.' Peter Ackroyd, The Times Praise for 'The Favoured Child': 'For sheer pace and percussive drama it will take a lot of beating.' Sunday Times

With this elaborate tapestry of a young woman's life, the Lacey family trilogy ( Wideacre and The Favored Child ) comes to a satisfying conclusion. Meridon is the lost child whose legacy is the estate of Wideacre. She and her very different sister, Dandy, were abandoned as infants and raised in a gypsy encampment, learning horsetrading and other tricks of survival. They are indentured to a circus master whose traveling show is made successful by Meridon's equestrian flair and Dandy's seductive beauty on the trapeze. Meridon's escape from this world is fueled by pregnant Dandy's murder and her own obsessive dream of her ancestral home. After claiming Wideacre, Meridon succumbs for a while to the temptation of the ``quality'' social scene, but eventually she comes to her senses, and, in a tricky card game near the end of the saga, triumphs fully. The hard-won homecoming in this historical novel is richly developed and impassioned. Doubleday Book Club alternate. (Aug.)