I recently finished book 3 in Phillipa Gregory's Fairmile series. Dawnlands, and it was a 5-star book until the very end when I almost threw the book against the wall and vowed to not read any more in the series. That said, I did grant it 4 stars on Goodreads because it was so good up until the end.
The 3 books in the series span the years 1648 to 1688 and chronicle the English Civil War that ended the reign of King Charles I and ushered in the rule of Oliver Cromwell, the Restoration of the monarchy with King Charles II, and the Glorious Revolution which ended the reign of King James II and brought William of Orange and Charles's daughter Mary to England and established Parliament as the ruling power. I loved the time frame because I haven't read much about the 17th century in quite awhile so it was great to brush up on the historical facts in a fictional world. The other thing I liked about the series is how it didn't take place in just England, but we got to visit 17th century New England as well as Barbados, Venice (always a treat), London, Yorkshire, as well as the south coast of England.
I think the books in the series painted a really compelling picture of the various strata of society in the 17th century, from the poorest of the poor, to the growing middle-class of merchants and traders, to the gentry, and finally the court. I liked reading about the soldiering, the economic realities and physical abomination of slavery, and the very real conflicts over religion and religious freedom.
I also really liked the family that Gregory creates and grows, from the wise Alinor who is a midwife, herbalist, and healer who is blessed/cursed with foreknowledge that creates serious challenges for her, her brother Ned (ardent revolutionary soldier who fights for the rights of the common man), her two children (Alice - practical business woman, and Rob - lovable physician with a romantic strain), her various grandchildren and great-grand children (Sarah - an adventuror, Johnnie - a businessman who can justify any course of action, Mia and Gabriella - Venetian girls who come to England for an education). There is even a first-rate villainess, Olivia, who lies, cheats, steals and is a beauty to boot--definitely cut from the same cloth as both Becky Sharp and Scarlett O'Hara. And there are marvelous side characters (Rowan - the Native American girl in book 3), James Avery (the aristocrat who once was a priest), and Captain Shaw (a sea captain and all-around good guy).
*********SPOILERS************
So what did I hate about the ending of book 3, Dawnlands? At the very end of the book, after James II is deposed and fled to France, the scheming, conniving Olivia turns up on the family's doorstep, again! Ready to make everyone's life miserable, again!
Now, I like a good villainess, but I like them to get their just deserts in the end. For the entire book 3, as we approach the end of James II's reign, I was really looking forward to Olivia going down (or up) in flames as her massive web of lies caught up with her. I was literally crushed to learn that Gregory was going to feature her in what is sure to be a book 4 in the series. I honestly don't feel like reading more of the same--the same beauty that beguiles everyone, the same protestations of eternal love followed by callous back-stabbing, the same manipulation of characters I have grown to love. Enough already! Throw some other challenges at this family, but I've had enough of Olivia.
I really truly think that this series is some of Gregory's best work, but she needs to know when to let a villainess go so that we can have a fresh story for the next generation of characters. That's my rant for the day!
