Dawnlands

Name: Dawnlands
Brand: Simon & Schuster Audio
Availability: InStock
Rating: 3.14 (7 reviews)
Author: Philippa Gregory
ISBN: 9781797144986

Author: Philippa Gregory

Series: The Fairmile Series #3

Narrator: Louise Brealey

Unabridged: 19 hr 43 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Published: 11/08/2022

Categories: Fiction, Family Life, Historical Fiction

Synopsis

Palace intrigue, defiant heroism, and a long-awaited love fulfilled from New York Times bestselling author Philippa Gregory in her Fairmile series.

It is 1685 and England is on the brink of a renewed civil war. King Charles II has died without an heir and his brother James is to take the throne. But the people are bitterly divided, and many do not welcome the new king or his young queen. Ned Ferryman cannot persuade his sister, Alinor, that he is right to return from America with his Pokanoket servant, Rowan, to join the rebel army. Instead, Alinor and her daughter Alys, have been coaxed by the manipulative Livia to save the queen from the coming siege. The rewards are life-changing: the family could return to their beloved Tidelands, and Alinor could rule where she was once lower than a servant.

Alinor’s son is determined to stay clear of the war, but, in order to keep his own secrets in the past, Livia traps him in a plan to create an imposter Prince of Wales—a surrogate baby to the queen.

From the last battle in the desolate Somerset Levels to the hidden caves on the slave island of Barbados, this third volume of an epic story follows a family from one end of the empire to another, to find a new dawn in a world which is opening up before them with greater rewards and dangers than ever before.

About Philippa Gregory

English born author, Philippa Gregory, received her degree in History from the University of Sussex, followed by a PhD in 18th century literature from the University of Edinburgh. Along the journey of her education, she discovered that she had an uncommon interest in the Tudor period. Using her history background, she first wrote The Other Boleyn Girl, which to her credit, was made into a TV drama, and followed by a major film.

Gregory has put much of her effort and personal money into a 20 year old charity that she founded. It is Gardens for The Gambria, that teaches school children to plant market gardens which are irrigated by the almost 200 wells that the author has funded. She is also a patron of The UK Chagos Support Association, a displaced people in the Indian Ocean.

Gregory was selected as the 2008 Edinburgh University Alumna of the Year. She lives with her family on a small farm in Yorkshire.

Reviews

Goodreads review by James on August 27, 2022

I've enjoyed all 15 of the Plantagenet and Tudor collection written by, and when I learned she'd begun writing a new series, Fairmile, based on mostly fictional characters, I was intrigued. Book 1 was great, while book 2 was just average. But in this final one (I think, perhaps there could be more c......more

Goodreads review by Stephen on January 06, 2023

Historical fiction of the reign of James II and the struggles of a country. Enjoyed it overall the ending seemed abit rushed though......more

Goodreads review by Erin on October 28, 2022

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review. Expected publication date: November 8, 2022 “Dawnlands” is the third novel in the Fairmile series by historical fiction writer Philippa Gregory. The first two novel......more

Goodreads review by Jeanne on November 23, 2022

This was my least favorite in this series. It picks up 15 years after the last book, Dark Tide, but never gives an update of what happened in that time. There was too much politics for me and I skimmed that and the battle descriptions. Ned is sentenced to death but Rowan, his Indian friend, rescues......more

Goodreads review by Mahayana on January 15, 2023

With such wonderful historical research, and made so interesting through the characters, one feels right there, amidst the action, minus the danger! This book wraps up the Fairmile series and brings us up to the onset of another civil war in 1685, England. We also travel to Barbados through Rowan and......more

Quotes

"Philippa Gregory is one of the best loved writers of historical fiction. In DAWNLANDS, narrator Louise Brearley's firm voice takes listeners to the chaotic world of England in the late 1680s, when James II was king. There are characters from earlier novels in this installment in the Fairmire series, including the villainous but intriguing Livia — with her syrupy voice and Italian accent. One new character is the Native American captive, Rowan, who enchants listeners with her gentle voice and fierce spirit. This audiobook reveals the political turmoil and religious bigotry of the Stuart years, as well as confrontations between former lovers and enemies, and the author's own takes on historical mysteries such as the "Warming Pan Baby.""