Book Review: THE LOVES OF CHARLES II by Jean Plaidy Part III "HERE LIES OUR SOVEREIGN LORD"

Nell Gwyn and Louise de Keroualle

Nell: “She knew, too, that the king had forced the Queen to accept Lady Castlemaine as one of the women of her bedchamber. All of London talked of it—the resentment of the Queen, the flaming arrogance of Lady Castlemaine, and the stubbornness of the King. She was sorry for the dark-eyed Queen”

Nell Gwyn, the classic rags to riches story. A beautiful girl from the bad part of town hits it big on the stage and draws the interest of the most glittering figure at court none other than the king himself. I first fell in love with Nell when I read “The Perfect Royal Mistress” by Diane Haeger and since then I have always been on the look out for anything related to Nell Gwyn. Nell is the reason I fell in love with Charles II and “The Loves of Charles II” has been top on my list of must read Nell books.

I enjoyed this last portion of the book. I love “Nelly” and her quick wit. She was a fiery one when she wanted to be which I always thought was humorous. Nelly had two children with Charles and was pushing for them to get titles. She finally got her way when she beckoned her child to come to her and referred to him as a bastard, Charles was so appalled that he granted him his title right away. I love her antics my favorite was when she brought sweet meats to another of the kings mistresses and she had laced them with a sort of laxatives so that Charles would come to her that night. She was Charles lighthearted mistress and he always knew her to be in good cheer and always unconditionally faithful and loving to him. Charles owned her heart, she had eyes for none other than him.

“You know His most gracious Majesty never discards; he merely adds to his hand”.

Louise de Keroualle on the other hand is right up there with Barbara Castlemaine. Lousie was cold, ruthless, and always calculating her next move. She was a lady in the court of France to Charles sister Henrietta. When the siblings last met in Dover Henrietta had brought Louise with her as a companion on the trip. Charles being Charles a beauty never eluded him and Louise was no different. Louise was sent to Charles upon the sudden death of his sister as a comfort from the king of France. In reality she was a spy and she did everything in her power to make sure that the treaty that was signed at Dover was fulfilled. I do not like Louise and I am not sure if I ever will. In many reads she is the one who puts on the water works with Charles to get what she wants it was all a game to her.

I do not think she ever really loved Charles, at least not like good Nelly did. One good thing I can say about Louise de Keroualle is that she knocked Barbara Countess of Castlemaine of her spot of head mistress. On the other hand it was a case of the better of two evils.

All in all the two leading ladies of this book were with Charles to the end. An end it was too, poor Charles to me medically speaking it sounded like he had a stroke or a brain aneurysm. I figured a stroke when it was stated that he slumped on one side. Louise de Keroualle the witch was allowed with him because she was of noble birth but poor Nelly was not allowed near him or could not get to him, it was not stated. Charles last reference to Nelly has always haunted me when he told his brother who would be king next that “Please let poor Nelly not starve”. To me it has always been a reminder that even in the end he really loved Nelly.

5/5 Wow was that a read. Plaidy's background in psychology really showed through on this one. She just has a gift for understanding and throughly covering the human psychology. She gives you the most logical "Why" awnsers. I love her for it too, no one is like Plaidy in the fact that her descriptive details mixed with the psychology, it was like she was there and she just gets it. A highly recommended read and I am pretty sure that every question I have ever had about Charles II has now been answered. This has been one I have been dying to add to my collection and now Charles II can take his rightful place with the others on the Plaidy only book shelf.

R-Rating for sexual content

FTC-This novel is from my personal library

Amazon 

The Loves of Charles II by Jean Plaidy
The Stuart Saga by Jean Plaidy

~LIZZIE~

Book Review: THE LOVES OF CHARLES II by Jean Plaidy, Part II "A HEALTH UNTO HIS MAJESTY"

Catherine of Braganza and Barbara, Countess of Castlemaine
" Revenge, he had said, was enjoyed by the failures of this world. Those who achieved success spared little time for something which had become so trivial. He was now back in the heart of his country and the hearts of his people. He forgave those men who had been against his family, as he trusted God would forgive him his many sins".

I can say this portion of the book was not exactly my favorite. Why not high on my list? Just look who is the main protagonist in this is...Barbara Countess of Castlemaine. She has not always been a favorite of mine and for good reason. She was a witch...not in the literal sense but personality wise. This did answer for me how she had manages to sink her claws into Charles in the beginning.

Barbara came from a noble family with rank but that did not make her a lady. She was beyond lusty and had a devious mind. She was the type of woman that would beat her servants and not think twice about it. Her servants and many other people learned the hard way to steer clear of her. From the beginning of her early years she was the boss and she knew what she wanted. She wanted a week husband so she could have as many affairs as she possible wanted. She picked a week man for this position in her life and her plans worked. The first time she had a rendezvous with Charles it was when he was still in exile. Barbara had gone with her wussy husband to Holland to handle some business with the king. Barbara and the king’s affair started there and who would have guessed that the first woman he asked to sup with him on his return to the throne would be the witch Barbra.

What was it about her he was smitten with? Not only was she beyond drop dead gorgeous but also she was smart and she was had a wicked ambition. Their relationship lasted over fifteen years. How I am not sure but I believe it all comes back to Charles habit to pacify behavior and Barbra's tyrant attitude just was too much. At one point in the read it was plotted to push Barbara out of the head mistress position and it was stated that Charles was like a card holder with his women, playing different hands at any given time. Most amusing was that "he never discards yet he just adds to his hand". Barbra would be her own downfall and I was just surprised she ruled for so long.

Catherine of Braganza, sweet, innocent and fully sheltered her whole life had no idea what life she had stepped into when she married Charles II. In her early years there was much issue in Portugal as far as the ruling rights were concerned. It was lightly touched on in the book and honestly I have no prior knowledge of Catherine. Pious and sweet natured she went to England with high hopes of love and was bitterly disappointed when her Charles wanted his mistress the notorious Barbara in her list of maids of honor. I do have to say that even though Catherine typically is portrayed as a wuss, she was not when it came to this one issue. She stood firm on and the issue of Barbara and it cost her Charles love. Charles being that man that he was really did not enjoy confrontation or women upset and it just pushed him away from her even farther into Barbra's bed.

Sadly Catherine had numerous miscarriages while the other women in Charles life became pregnant repeatedly. One interesting point Plaidy hinted at was that the farthingale Portuguese women wore at the time could have left her deformed and maybe sterile. There was only one reference to this and it was before she was in England, in her native land of Portugal. Still Charles never left her or gave up in his support of her. He even nursed her back to health himself after the first miscarriage. To me that was really respectable because in a time when a wife could be easily dismissed for her lack of child bearing, he refused even a suggestion of this and adamantly refused to let anything befall her. I think the only real feeling he had for her was pity but he did care because that is the kind of man he was.

Buckingham

"It is the way with some women, Sire. You have but to look back and consider Henry VIII and what difficulties he had in getting an heir. It brought much incipience to him"

"And greater inconvience for his wives, I fear" added Charles.

5/5 Even though I said this was not my favorite portion it is still a wonderful read because it gave so much background on the kings very early years of his restoration. Life in England went from one extreme to the other, the backlash of the Puritan rule made everyone revolt from their moral backbones and just do what made them feel good. I do want to follow up on this read with more of the Stuart Saga and “The Merry Monarchs Wife”. A highly recommended read.

R-Rating for sexual reference. 

FTC-This novel is from my personal collection.

Amazon

"The Loves of Charles II" by Jean Plaidy
The Stuart Saga by Jean Plaidy

~LIZZIE~

Book Review: THE LOVES OF CHARLES II by Jean Plaidy Part I "THE WANDERING PRINCE"

Every once in awhile I find myself in a historical fiction funk, Jean Plaidy always has a way of unfrazzling me. Her consistent writing skills are always on point and never confusing or lacking. Arleigh from Historical Fiction.com sent me this lovely jewel of a book and I am forever grateful. I have always wanted to read this book not just because I love Plaidy but for my own love of Charles II. My two favorite leading men are Charles II and Robert Dudley. To me they both are England’s historical playboys.

This book is unique in the fact that it actually is three books combined into one new reprint. The three books are “The Wandering Prince”, “A Health Unto His Majesty”, and “Here Lies Our Sovereign Lord”. It is also a part of the Stuart Saga. It is a whopper of a book at 756 pages but I can now confirm it is a well worthy read. It lived up to the mountain of hopes and expectations I laid down before reading. Charles II was a notorious lover of women it is only appropriate that it would take not one, not two, but three books just to cover the leading ladies he had through out his life.

Henriette d’Orleans and Lucy Water
“And most vivid of all, it seemed, were the figures who moved about in this perfect setting. Jewels flashed; silks and satins rustled; blue, green, and scarlet feathers drooped over shoulders and the air was filled with parfume. Fans were of brilliant colors and exquisite design: gloves were elaborately embroidered; swords were diamond hilted; spurs were of gold.”

Think back to growing up, who comes first to mind when you think of first loves? A boy from school, a kid from your neighborhood comes to mind first right? What about before you were conscious of the boy in the neighborhood…your parents, or even better a sibling that you just happen to share a special bond with? I was pleasantly surprised that Charles II first love was his baby sister “minette”, Henriette d’ Orleans.

From the very beginning this first book was all about Henriette, it was written from her point of view. Henriette was a tiny baby when England had taken a turn against her father Charles I. Opening with her daring escape to France she was only two years old. In the care of a trusted noble woman they disguised themselves and fled to France to where the banished queen Henrietta Marie was. Since the disposed queen was French it was the safest place for her to flee to. Depending on the generosity of their French relations they lived in exile in France.

At a very young age Henrietta fell in love with her 15+ year older brother Charles. It was expected for her to love him; he was easy going with a very loving and charming personality. Charles was the type of man that any woman could love because he knew the realities of women and really understood the logic behind the woman.

In exile the Stuarts suffered hardship after hardship because they were forced into relying on the charity of others. Charles I was executed by the awful Puritan Cromwell. Cromwell and the common wealth government had three of Charles I children held captive in England. With no country to call home the whole Stuart lot was forced from their home into exile. Charles II spent his days roaming the continent between his sister in Holland and his mother in France. The exile years were hard on the family and the banished queen Henrietta did not make it any easier. She actually made it worse. Her children suffered but she was too concerned with her religion to even care. She even went as far to disown her own son after he escaped captivity for making a religious promise to his father (Charles I). In my eyes the woman was just plain evil and could not be logically reasoned with.

Plaidy has a way of seamlessly bouncing between characters and this read was no different. Following all the loves of Charles to others might have been a tangled mess but this was not the case for Plaidy. From Charles sisters, mother, and his mistress Lucy Waters. Lucy must have flown under my radar but she was the one who gave birth the king’s first legitimate bastard. The child became the Duke Monmouth.

Charles loved Lucy for what she was he did not set hidden expectations on her. He just was not that kind of man. Lucy was born lusty and chance led her to Charles in Holland. Since Charles was forced to strategize and wander to get his kingdom back, it was only a matter of time before he had to move on from Holland. He did not expect Lucy to be faithful but she did try for a while and being the lusty woman that she was; it was not long before she had a replacement. I empathized with Lucy because she came across to me as a one-track kind of girl who was dumber than a box of rocks. She was built for loving and she knew this was her best quality. All things change and Lucy’s story took an unexpected turn and since I had no prior knowledge of her I was stunned and saddened by what became of Lucy.

My expectations of this book were far different in actuality. I felt like the book was more the women’s story than Charles. I think that to really get Charles II you have to fully understand the backgrounds of the many women he loved. In understanding the women and how they came into Charles life speaks volumes of his personality and who he really was.

5/5+++ Loved it! It cleared up so much for me. The big link I was missing is that Charles mother Henrietta Maria was a princess of France so technically Charles was half French. I really enjoyed “Minette's” story, I had to give this portion of the book a 5++++ because there is a twist that really got me and I LOVED it. I never even saw if coming. A highly recommended read for all. I am posting this review in sections because if I put it all together it would be the longest post in the free world so stay tuned for the next section “A health unto his Majesty”.

R-Rating sexual references.

FTC-This novel is from my personal collection.

Amazon

"The Loves of Charles II" by Jean Plaidy

The Stuart Saga by Jean Plaidy

~LIZZIE~