The King’s Favorite

by Susan Holloway Scott

From the author of Duchess: A Novel of Sarah Churchill and Royal Harlot: A Novel of the Countess Castlemaine and King Charles II comes this novel based on the life of his favorite actress mistress, Nell Gwyn.

I was very disappointed with this one.  I always look forward to reading about Charles II because he was intelligent and funny, and Nelly was supposed to be his female counterpart.

The character didn’t come to life because the author switched from Nell’s voice — mostly during dialogue — to another when narrating, though it should have matched up being the same person.  It was like two people telling the story: an ignorant peasant and an astute political observer.  In some parts of the book she shows no interest at all for intrigues (and in fact voices her lack of interest), but without so much as a mention at a reason for the change of heart she has a 5 page explanation of what’s going on in Parliament.  Her character is not consistent.

I have the same complaint concerning the sexual impropriety in this novel as in her others: it’s just too vulgar for my taste.  This one is a little more so than the others because the protagonist is a low-born kept woman instead of a court lady, but that is to be expected.  I think, though, that it could be written more delicately.  It’s been a while since I read The Perfect Royal Mistress by Diane Haegar, but I don’t recall having the same thoughts with that novel and certainly nothing naughty is to be found in Jean Plaidy’s Here Lies Our Sovereign Lord.  Also, Nelly could read in Haegar’s book — she learned from a kindly priest as a child.  In Scott’s novel she never learns to read and supposedly learns her lines as a actress by having them read to her.  In the end she recites several lines of a speech with only having heard it once.

Finally, I expected it to end with either the death of the king or herself.  It’s not that I enjoy endings that include death, but most fictional biographies contain a life in its entirely and usually end that way.  This one ended with a very minor event and was made into Nell’s shinning moment, as if the whole story was leading up to it — and its so silly.  I would rather had read about Nell’s reaction when she was not allowed at the king’s death bed and how she got on for the remaining two years of her life.

Have I anything good to say?  It is funny and I like Rochester and the pranks they played on the king’s other mistresses.

After this I don’t know if I will read The French Mistress coming out this year.  Perhaps I will give this author another chance as it must be hard developing a realistic, likable character who started out the way Nell did.