Wideacre Study Guide

Beatrice Lacey: Daughter of the Squire of Wideacre and sister to Harry Lacey. She is considered by the villagers as the true master of Wideacre after her father's death. Unable to retain Wideacre, Beatrice stops at nothing to achieve her goal of staying on the land forever, even going as far as to committing incest and murder. As a teenager, she falls in love with Ralph and remains in love with him, despite her affair with Harry and her marriage to John. With Harry, she gives birth to a daughter, Julia, and a son, Richard. Her affair with Harry is purely out of greed and passion for the land, and her marriage with John deteriorates when he learns about her secrets. Her attempts to gain the land cause it to go bankrupt and ruined. At the end of the novel, she is remorseful of her actions and dies at Ralph's hands, knowing only he can end her sinful legacy.

Harry Lacey: Beatrice's older brother who is the new Squire of Wideacre. He is easily seduced by Beatrice, even though he knows what they're doing is wrong. Unlike the headstrong and stubborn Beatrice, Harry is timid and weak. He is also very dense, even though he was sent away to a private school for lessons. He is sexually attracted to Beatrice and has a sexual relationship with her throughout the novel, resulting in the birth of two children, Julia and Richard. He marries Celia, whom he grows to love and respect, and raises Julia without knowing she (and Richard) are his imbred offspring with Beatrice. He has a weak heart, which he dies from at the end.

Ralph Megson: The gamekeeper's son who falls in love with Beatrice. Together they plot to seize Wideacre for themselves. Their plan does not come into fruition, however, because Beatrice turns on Ralph and attempts to murder him. He later returns as 'The Culler' who revolts against the Quality. He kills Beatrice at the end of Wideacre , but stays by the land to help watch over Julia and Richard in The Favored Child . He kills Richard at the end of The Favored Child .

Dr. John MacAndrew: A bright and quick witted doctor from Edinburgh, Scotland who falls in love with and marries Beatrice. They become estranged after he discovers the truth about Beatrice and Harry's incestuous relationship, as well as Beatrice's murderous attempts to give the land to her children. To get revenge against her and save the children, he later starts plotting their downfall. He eventually falls in love with Celia, though they do not have an affair. At the end of the novel, they leave the house together. He travels to India to earn more money for the family and comes back to raise the children with Celia in The Favored Child . He is murdered by Richard.

Celia Lacey: Harry's wife, who later becomes the moral force for good against Beatrice's manipulative schemes. Her marriage to Harry is arranged, but she grows to love him for his gentleness. She is thrilled to accept Julia as her own daughter, as it is later discovered that she is unable to have children. When she becomes estranged from Harry, she falls in love with John, with whom she leaves with and raises the children until they are murdered by Richard in The Favored Child .

Julia Lacey : Daughter of Beatrice and Harry. She is passed off as Celia's daughter and later raised by her and John. Although less timid and naïve as Harry, her sheltered upbringing causes her to have less confidence and accept Richard's abuse. While she describes Richard as her childhood friend, bully, and betrothed, she has no feelings for him and attempts to escape from him by marrying the first man she falls in love with. However, Richard rapes and impregnates her to stop the engagement, and then forces her to marry him. She gives birth to a girl, whom she names Sarah, before she dies from a fever during afterbirth complications.

Richard MacAndrew : Son of Beatrice and Harry. He is passed off as John's son by Beatrice and later raised by John and Celia. As deceptive and sociopathic as his mother, Richard is determined to fulfill Beatrice's wish of claiming Wideacre by marrying Julia. When his position is threatened by Julia and others, he murders those who stand in his way, and rapes Julia, resulting in a pregnancy and birth of a daughter, Sarah. The night of his child's birth, Richard is murdered by Ralph.

Sarah Lacey (AKA Meridon) : Daughter of Julia and Richard, and granddaughter of Beatrice and Harry. After the deaths of her parents, she is given and raised by gypsies and renamed Meridon to hide her true identity. However, as she enters womanhood, she discovers that she comes from the Lacey family and is offered to inherit Wideacre if she leaves her previous family and life behind. However, she cannot reconcile the two worlds and leaves her husband and Wideacre. She never learns that her parents and grandparents were brothers and sisters.