The Legacy by Lynda La Plante (8-Nov-2012) Paperback

Legacy #1

by Lynda La Plante

A novel concerned with human greed, lust and ambition, which tells of a Welsh miner's daughter who marries a Romany gypsy boxer contending for the World Heavyweight Championship and of how a legacy left to her affects her family.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Book Club, Modern, British Literature

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Lynda La Plante, CBE (born Lynda Titchmarsh) is a British author, screenwriter, and erstwhile actress (her performances in Rentaghost and other programmes were under her stage name of Lynda Marchal), best known for writing the Prime Suspect television crime series.

Her first TV series as a scriptwriter was the six part robbery series Widows, in 1983, in which the widows of four armed robbers carry out a heist planned by their deceased husbands.

In 1991 ITV released Prime Suspect which has now run to seven series and stars Helen Mirren as DCI Jane Tennison. (In the United States Prime Suspect airs on PBS as part of the anthology program Mystery!) In 1993 La Plante won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for her work on the series. In 1992 she wrote at TV movie called Seekers, starring Brenda Fricker and Josette Simon, produced by Sarah Lawson.

She formed her own television production company, La Plante Productions, in 1994 and as La Plante Productions she wrote and produced the sequel to Widows, the equally gutsy She's Out (ITV, 1995). The name "La Plante" comes from her marriage to writer Richard La Plante, author of the book Mantis and Hog Fever. La Plante divorced Lynda in the early 1990s.

Her output continued with The Governor (ITV 1995-96), a series focusing on the female governor of a high security prison, and was followed by a string of ratings pulling miniseries: the psycho killer nightmare events of Trial & Retribution (ITV 1997-), the widows' revenge of the murders of their husbands & children Bella Mafia (1997) (starring Vanessa Redgrave), the undercover police unit operations of Supply and Demand (ITV 1998), videogame/internet murder mystery Killer Net (Channel 4 1998) and the female criminal profiler cases of Mind Games (ITV 2001).

Two additions to the Trial and Retribution miniseries were broadcast during 2006.

Reviews

[Velvetink · Rating 2 out of 5]

5/5/14 loaned to pop

Ok, well I should update on this,(& yeah all the other books I've read & not reviewed in 2011). This is a what I call a trashy potboiler...well maybe not trashy really, but an historical potboiler. One of those easy reads that have drama after drama and it's not written very well...well in that easy to read style and you wonder why the heck you are reading it: BUT in the end you can't put it down because the plot becomes so angst ridden you are hooked and want to find out what the heck happened - even though you don't really like any of the characters and are fairly sure that the historical facts are incorrect but you are not that inspired to go check. At the end you breathe with relief that it's over and wonder if it was worth the effort. It's one of those books that you pick up at an airport or motel room because there is nothing else to read while waiting - you would not spend actual money on it.

I am being hard on this. Sorry for those who loved it. There were interesting bits. There is a lot about Wales and the life of miners around the war years. There is gypsy drama and love and danger. There are racist and sexist attitudes which may offend - though is probably a true reflection of the times and places and a rape scene. There is a running theme of boxing. You would never know that from the cover or the Rossetti poem presented on the first pages though. The main bad boy character - the gypsy becomes a world renown boxer..travelling to the USA and hanging around Jack Dempsey's boxing circle. A few well known mafia thugs are also written into the plot to make things interesting just in case you happen to get bored..and oh poor miner's daughter makes good, then goes bad, then good again. And some fashion tips for the lower classes just in case you want to fake being rich or actually accomplish it one day. Oh and I forgot the incest.

I'm tired haven't had more than a few hours sleep in a couple of days and beg forgiveness for this paltry excuse of a review - if I had the time I would like to check the boxing facts - whether any contained herein is based on fact or just made up. But I have no time to follow up something that I really didn't think much of..

I think this novel was the author's first book - I guess I would rate it in the genre of ?- Flowers in the Attic" without the sinister mind fucks. It could have been good. Maybe. It wasn't.



My father gave me this today - he's just read it and liked it...so not sure what it's like, since he was basically a non-reader of novels a few months ago. It starts off with a beautifully sad poem by Christina Rossetti.

REMEMBER

by: Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)

REMEMBER me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go, yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of our future that you plann'd:
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.
"Remember" is reprinted from Goblin Market and other Poems. Christina Rossetti. Cambridge: Macmillan, 1862.

[Ioanna Xristodoyloy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Δεν ήταν άσχημο βιβλίο. Για κάποιο λόγο το θέμα τσιγγάνα στα βιβλία μου ακούγετε λίγο κιτς να το πω?ναι έτσι θα το πω.Μου δίνουν στα νευρά οι ταμπέλες ακόμα και στα βιβλία. Γενικότερα ήταν ένα βιβλιαράκι που διαβαζόταν πολύ ευχάριστα και είχε αρκετά γρήγορη πλοκή εύκολη γραφή ,κυλούσε γρήγορα και απροβληματιστα. Θα ήταν ακόμα καλύτερο αν γυριζόταν σε ταινία .Στο τέλος του βιβλίου βλέπω ότι το βιβλίο έχει και συνεχεία και η ιστορία δεν τελειώνει εκεί .την οποία δεν έχω φυσικά και μένω με το σπουργίτι στο χέρι .Γιαυτό και όσοι αποφασίσετε να το διαβάσετε κάλο θα είναι να έχετε και το δεύτερο μέρος για να δείτε την συνεχεία

[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not for me I'm afraid. Didn't grab me from the start.
Must admit, I thought it was going to be a thriller.... I clearly didn't read the blurb 🙄

[Julie Reynolds · Rating 5 out of 5]

An epic novel. Absolutely wonderful. Gripped my imagination from start to finish. Cannot wait to read the sequel in due course.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

The reason I chose to buy and read The Legacy was because I'd seen Lynda La Plante give a talk at Harrogate Crime Writers Festival and she said it was her favourite of all the books she'd written. She said she enjoyed writing it so much that she didn't want to finish it. This is a classic 80s blockbuster. If you enjoyed Woman Of Substance, you'll enjoy this. A strong, ambitious heroine who rises from humble beginnings to produce a dynasty from an unlikely coupling with a Romany gypsy. Freedom progresses from bare knuckle fighter to British Heavyweight Champion. He moves with his family to America and we're introduced to Jack Dempsey and Al Capone! Personally, I didn't enjoy the boxing scenes and found the middle section of the book sagged somewhat. However, the novel's climax was compelling to the extent that I briefly thought about buying the sequel.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another of my all time favorites. I lost my copy so bought another one. I read it when it first came out and read it again a few years later. The Talisman is the sequel - also good but not as memorable. I still think about the characters, they were so real.

[Tittirossa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Polpettone avvincente ma sconclusionato, interminabile e quanto si arriva alla fine è tirata via.

[Christine Dockwray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book. Lynda La Plante is such a good writer. Never disappoints. Looking forward to reading the sequel The Talisman. The characters and story comes to life, jumping from the pages so that, although a long book, the reader has to keep turning the pages, unable to put down, to see what happens. Recommend this book.

[Wanjery · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm always fascinated with how people lived back then, the 19th and 20th centuries and even further back. This book is one of those that defies historical order and shows women taking roles as head of families and there are gypsies involved!!!(At a time where your skin colour defined you).I totally loved this book and the ending was just devastating...

[Seana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first book by her that I read & I loved it. I couldn't put it down! Although towards the end I felt like the author felt like maybe she needed to wrap it up & started to cut out details, just hitting the highlights. Still a good book!

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

4½ stars
It took a little while for me to get into this book as it was such a departure from other books that I've read. I really enjoyed it, it had the right mix of characters, sadness and all the things that Nae for a good boo. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

When I say read I lie - I got a quarter if the way through and gave up. It's just a personal thing but it really wasn't my cup of tea.

[tinalouisereadsbooks · Rating 1 out of 5]

A novel concerned with human greed, lust and ambition, which tells of a Welsh miner's daughter who marries a Romany gypsy boxer contending for the World Heavyweight Championship and of how a legacy left to her affects her family.

My Thoughts:

I really enjoy books by Lynda La Plante, especially her crime novels such as ‘Above Suspicion’ and ‘Widows’. Recently I also read’Royal Flush’ which was a cracking read.

This book is her attempt at family saga. Evie is a coal miners daughter, who lives in small village in Wales. She is left a legacy by her school teacher whcich gives Evie a chance at a better life until she marries Freedom, a champion gypsy boxer.

This book had two positve things going for it. Firstly the author and secondly the story content. However I felt this book was missing something. It started off quite good but then I felt it was overlong and I was getting quite bored with it. My own honest opinion is that I think that ‘family saga’ is not really Lynda la Plante’s thing. Her crime novels are brilliant and I think that is what she is best at.

I gave up on this book, not far from the end but feel that it has ran out of steam and I don’t feel inclined to finish it.

[Emma Griffiths · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book! Evie is a coal miner's daughter, Who lives in a small village in Wales. She is left a legacy by her school teacher, Which gives Evie a chance at a better life until she marries Freedom, A Champion Romany Gypsy Boxer. With me being Welsh, Having had Grandparents from a small mining community, and with another part of my ancestry having Romany Gypsy roots, I absolutely loved reading this story. Although a fictional story, Reading about the harsh conditions that mining communities had to endure, Really hit home to me just exactly how much my family had to put up with, Just for me to be alive today! I loved reading about the Romany Gypsy traditions and found myself wishing I could go back in time and ask my family A LOT of questions. Can't wait to read the second installment!

[Louise Brazenor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great read. Covers so much. hard to put down.
Evelyn a daughter of Welsh miner leaves school early to look after widowed father and their family. Highly intelligent she is befriended and tutored by school mistress. She is taken on excursions to the city and meets high society.
Poverty, war, miners’ strikes the world of Gypsies. Evelyn’s high principals sees her fight to prove the innocence of handsome Gypsy accused of murder which leads her to High society love and into the world of Championship Boxing,

[Bernard · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 stars

Entertaining tale, not a crime book, but a book that had me gripped from beginning to end.

There were some blunders in the book - in one brief scene where they are in Chicago, a cab driver who has supposedly lived there all his life, points out to the visiting tourists the state capitol building.

Would I be right in saying that Chicago, then as now, is NOT the capital of its state, but that Springfield is instead?

[Jessica Ritchie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to be truthful here, I thought I was picking up a crime fiction book, instead I got a historical romance with aspects of crime. The book follows a Welsh girl that falls for a gypsy boy and his fight for justice. It wasn’t my favourite book I’ve read, but having done more research I will pick a more appropriate La Plante crime book in the future.

[Rhian Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave this book four stars rather than five as I enjoyed some parts a lot more than others. I really enjoyed the time that the main character spends in her Welsh village. I didn’t enjoy the part where they went to America so much.

The story is a heartbreaker and the ending was so sad but at parts I couldn’t put the book down!

[Iona · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tried .... i really did try... particularly as i was sat in a hospital for 11 hours with nothing else to do. The writing was amateurish which made it difficult for me to engage... and the story line very predicable. And its so very long. After about a third, i found myself skipping chunks and by 2/3, i took it to the hospital charity shop and donated it.

[Shellbee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished this book, it's absolutely brilliant. I must say, there aren't many books that make me sob, but the ending of this one was so so sad. Have the tissues at the ready. I'm now going to start the sequel "The Talisman".

[Angela Free · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant! Completely unexpected, this is not Lynda La Plante’s usual crime thriller style, this is the story of Evelyn and her gypsy love, Freedom. I can’t begin to tell you how much I love this book.

[christine watmough · Rating 5 out of 5]

The legacy

So unexpected from LLP. I didn't know what to expect when I started reading . I loved it, from start to finish, an was sorry to put it down. A sequel would be interesting.

[Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not too bad. Could have been a fair bit shorter and still conveyed the same story. An ending I didn't see coming which made it interesting.
I enjoyed the first part of life in the Welsh mining village and how hard life was ,but not
the part when they went to America which was predictable.

[Terry Chapelhow · Rating 3 out of 5]

As usual a very good novel from Lynda La Plante. Not quite what I expected as normally I would expect a crime novel from this author, I would put this more in the genre of historical fiction. Nevertheless still very well written and welcome change.

[Stuart Nutt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great story by a great author

Another excellent story drawing the reader in from the beginning in poverty to the end in sadness. It leads to a follow on book which I will read next.

[Sue Winn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really enjoyable read, especially as it's a while since I read a Family Saga. Now I have to read the sequel, obviously.....

[Steve Maxwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not too bad. Could have been a fair bit shorter and still conveyed the same story. An ending I didn't see coming which made it interesting.

[Vicki Rhodes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very gripping storyline from start to finish. Seriously unputdownable!!!
Lynda la Plant is fantastic author up there with the martina Cole’s & Roberta Krays.

[Sue · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tried to read this book but I found it so unsatisfactory that I gave up after about 40 percent. It isn’t what we have come to expected from Lynda La Plante.

[Tiffany Cavanaugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read, can see why she's a popular writer. Intriguing storyline with a bold heroine.