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Dark Tides

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Dark Tides

By: Philippa Gregory
Narrated by: Louise Brealey
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About this listen

THE SECOND NOVEL IN THE CAPTIVATING FAIRMILE SERIES FROM NUMBER ONE BESTSELLING AUTHOR, PHILIPPA GREGORY, TRACKING THE RISE OF THE TIDELANDS FAMILY IN LONDON, VENICE AND NEW ENGLAND.

Midsummer Eve, 1670. A turbulent time to seek the truth . . .

A wealthy man waits outside a poor London warehouse to meet with Alinor, the woman he failed twenty-one years before. He has everything to offer: money, land, status. He believes she has the only thing he cannot buy: his son and heir.

Meanwhile in New England, Alinor’s brother Ned cannot find justice in the New World, as the King’s revenge stretches across the Atlantic and turns the pioneers against each other and against the American Indians.

Then, a beautiful widow, Livia, arrives from Venice. She claims Alinor as her mother-in-law and has come with the news that Alinor’s son Rob has drowned in the dark tides of the lagoon. But is this true or could this woman be an imposter . . . ?

From London to New England and Venice, the dark tides always rise, and with them come secrets and enemies . . .

‘A gripping read spanning London, Venice and New England, all beautifully observed by Gregory’ Woman & Home

Praise for Tidelands, the first in the Fairmile series:

‘A gripping and intelligent portrait of a woman fighting to survive in a hostile world’ The Times

‘The first in a planned series . . . The author crafts her material with effortless ease. Her grasp of social mores is brilliant, the love story rings true and the research is, as ever, of the highest calibre’ Elizabeth Buchan, Daily Mail

‘Vivid and beguiling – Philippa Gregory at her best’ Woman & Home

‘A compelling novel that shines a light on the struggles of 17th century women’ Daily Mirror

The novel's power lies in Gregory's evocative portrayal of the tidelands and the everyday lives of those who are bound to them’ Sunday Express

‘If this novel is the first sign of what's to come then readers are in for a treat’ Emma Lee-Potter, Daily Express©2020 Philippa Gregory (P)2020 Simon & Schuster Audio
Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Renaissance Women's Fiction World Literature Fiction Money Italy England War

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All stars
Most relevant
After reading Tide Lands, I was keen to find out what happened a to Alinor and her family.
Dark Tides picked up the story twenty years later.
The action is split between London, Venice and New England, telling the tales of the Reekie family.
I really enjoyed the story and loved to hate the Noble Donna, I knew she was a wrong un from the beginning.
There is more action than Tide Lands, and the history included is riveting.

Dark Tides is a riveting read

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This was my first Phillipa Gregory book. I am so glad I decided to buy it. Trust brilliant. Beautfully written and narrated. The story held me in its grasp throughout. the historical detail was wonderful. I am away to look for my next Phillipa Gregory!

my first Phillipa Gregory

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I really liked this book and the narrator. I hope there is a book 3!

loved it

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I love the vast majority of Philippa Gregory’s books and this begins very well, but I think Ms Gregory really went too far with the story line. The Venice rescue by a lone young woman could never have happened so I thought the last part of the book was disappointing. It’s clearly meant to have a sequel which I shall read as the characters are interesting and I did enjoy the book overall but this isn’t one of Ms Gregory’s best.

A really good read but storyline a bit far fetched

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I have re-listened to both books to prepare for the upcoming Dawnlands. When I first listened to both I did not appreciate the descriptions and nuances. Listening to Robert Harris’s Act of Oblivion - the hunt for the regicides explains Ned’s story in New England and listening again to the exploits of them all is worth it. I might not have given 5 stars through when I first listened, but now would wholeheartedly suggest one listens to both. Not long now for the conclusion of the trilogy!

An enthralling continuation

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