Novelist Philippa Gregory is best known for her narratives of the English royal court: The Other Boleyn Girl, The Constant Princess and many others. Tidelands is, too, concerned with royal machinations--namely the English Civil War in 1648-49--but it focuses on the lives of ordinary citizens on England's south coast. Alinor Reekie, resident midwife and healer of Sealsea Island, is struggling to support her two teenage children after her abusive husband disappears at sea. When a young priest, who is also a royalist spy, shows up at her cottage, Alinor agrees to aid him, not realizing that his presence will change her life profoundly. Meanwhile, the neighbors' whisperings against Alinor may make it impossible for her to deny accusations--however baseless--of witchcraft.
Gregory draws her characters vividly: Alinor, uneducated but wise and thoughtful, is especially appealing, as is her daughter Alys, fiercely determined to marry the young man she loves. Alinor's brother, Ned, the local ferryman and a passionate veteran of Cromwell's army, gives eloquent voice to the common man willing to fight for a parliamentary government. Most of their neighbors are more concerned with the day-to-day struggle of living and suspicious of anyone who seems to rise too high too fast. Events unfold swiftly, and though Gregory ties up a few plot threads, she leaves others open for a planned sequel. Richly detailed and brimming with secrets (personal and political), Tidelands is a captivating portrait of a brave woman and a compelling start to a new series. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams