Book Club Pick - Dark Tides by Philippa Gregory

This month’s gr Book Club pick is Dark Tides, the latest novel in the ‘Fairmile’ series from bestselling historical fiction author PHILIPPA GREGORY. Before you get stuck into the book, join us as we recap Philippa’s writing career thus far, and why her new series has been worth the wait.

Prior to her career as a historical fiction author, Philippa Gregory had studied journalism and English literature, before finding her calling with a history degree. Her debut novel, Wideacre, (1987) was written while completing a PhD in 18th-century book history. After finishing her studies she followed it up with two more novels, The Favoured Child and Meridon, which continued the story of Beatrice Lacey trying to gain control of the Wideacre estate at the end of the 18th century.

After this success she wrote a number of stand-alone novels such as The Wise Woman and A Respectable Trade, the latter of which was adapted by Gregory for a miniseries on BBC Television, earning her a BAFTA nomination.

In 1998 and 1999, Phillipa released Earthly Joys and Virgin Earth, as part of the ‘Tradescant’ series, which followed 17th-century gardener John Tradescant witnessing a number of prominent events in England’s history. This was followed by Zelda’s Cut in 2000, which saw Philippa dabbling with psychological fiction in the present day.

2001 saw Philippa Gregory’s breakout novel, The Other Boleyn Girl, which was based upon the life of 16th century Mary Boleyn, sister of Anne Boleyn. Other than launching both a telefilm (2003) and a theatrical release (2008), it also marked the beginning of what would be her most successful and prolific series, ‘The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels’, which saw its final entry with The Last Tudor in 2017. In between the ‘Tudor’ books Philippa penned four books in her ‘Order of Darkness’ series, her first foray into both fantasy and young adult genres.

Tidelands, the first in the ‘Fairmile’ series which saw her eschewing courts and royals for the ‘ordinary’ and disenfranchised lower class women in 15th-century Northern England, was published in 2019. The story follows Alinor in 1648, living a claustrophobic life during a time of witch-mania and political turmoil. When she meets a Catholic priest on the run, she guides the runaway across the treacherous marshes, an act of kindness that puts them both in danger.

In our interview with her last year, Philippa remarked, ‘The most important thing to me in historical fiction is that the history is correct. The fiction should beautifully crafted. It should be as good as a novel as it can possibly be. I have this sort of platonic ideal of how wonderful a novel is going to be, and I strive for it daily. But the history, for me, you can’t compromise on it.’

Midsummers Eve, 1670. A wealthy man waits outside a poor London warehouse to meet with Alinor, the woman he failed 21 years before. He has everything to offer – wealth, land, status – and he believes she has the only thing he cannot buy: his son and heir. The warehouse is failing, clinging on to poor business in Restoration London – a city gone mad for pleasure. But will Alinor and her family sell out to Sir James? Meanwhile in New England, Alinor’s brother Ned, who rebelled against the Crown, cannot find justice in the New World, as the King’s revenge stretches across the Atlanic and turns the pioneers against each other and against the native Americans.

A beautiful widow, Livia, arrives from Venice, telling them Alinor’s son, Rob, has drowned and that she needs the family’s help with a profitable new trade. She will import beautiful statues of marble and bronze to fuel the classical craze among the wealthy landowners. She enchants the warehouse family with her son, their new heir; her sensual carefree warmth; and promises of wealth to come. She captures Sir James and spins them all into a mesh of deceit which only the brave little daughter of the warehouse can break. Sarah searches for the truth about Livia in Venice bringing home the stunning denouement to this, the second book in the ‘Fairmile’ series. 

Dark Tides by Philippa Gregory is published by Simon & Schuster