The Loves of Charles II: The Stuart Saga [Paperback]

Jean Plaidy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 25, 2005 | Series: The Stuart Saga

From princesses to country girls to actresses…the loves of Charles II come to life.

Ten years after Charles I was deposed and executed, his son, Charles II, regains the throne after many years in exile. Charles is determined not only to restore the monarchy but also to revive a society that has suffered under many years of Puritan rule, when everything from theater to Christmas festivals was illegal. As king, Charles II throws himself into the gaiety of court life, becoming a patron of the arts and a consummate lover of women. He first secures a strong dynastic alliance by marrying Catherine of Braganza, a shy, plain Portuguese princess who falls in love with her handsome husband and brings him great wealth, but can never give him the son he longs for. For many years, his “untitled queen” is a bold and sensual older woman—Barbara, Countess of Castlemaine—whose husband is routinely paid to look the other way. But when the politically ambitious Lady Castlemaine becomes too powerful, she is replaced by Louise de Kéroualle, a baby-faced French noblewoman who may have been sent to Charles’s court as a spy. His other great love, and Louise’s rival, is Nell Gwyn, a stage actress who rises from the streets of London to become the king’s favorite and a hero of the working class.

Court intrigue and affairs of the heart weave together in this unforgettable page-turner.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Plaidy excels at blending history with romance and drama.” —New York Times

About the Author

Jean Plaidy, one of the preeminent authors of historical fiction for most of the twentieth century, is the pen name of the prolific English author Eleanor Hibbert, also known as Victoria Holt. Jean Plaidy’s novels had sold more than 14 million copies worldwide at the time of her death in 1993.

Product Details

• Paperback: 768 pages
• Publisher: Broadway (October 25, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 140008248X
• ISBN-13: 978-1400082483
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1.7 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #352,131 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Newer edition of an older saga, March 6, 2006

By 

Lavanya R - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Loves of Charles II: The Stuart Saga (Paperback)

I have read the original Stuart Saga by Jean plaidy. Especially 'Here Lies Our Sovereign Lord' would have the same story base as this one. It might have been re-published which would explain typographical errors that the other reviewer mentions.

I love Charles II for all his faults. He was the last King who really was in charge. If anything at all is a fault with him, he loved too well. After him, English monarchy lost its power - as House of Hanover came into picture - as the parliament grew in its place instead.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Skip this, May 11, 2007

By 

K. Huff (Radnor, PA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Loves of Charles II: The Stuart Saga (Paperback)

I'm usually a fan of historical fiction, especially novels about Charles II. However, I couldn't get into this book--or rather, three books rolled into one.

Originally published in 1956 and 1957, these three novels focus on the relationships Charles II had with his sister, Henriette; his wife, Catherine of Braganza; and his mistresses, Barbara Palmer, Countess of Castlemaine, Louise de Keroualle, and Nell Gwynne. Although the books are well-researched, the characters have no depth or believability. Even Charles, who was actually a pretty charismatic guy, comes off as a cardboard cut-out. The novels read like historical nonfiction in some places. The relationship between Henriette and her husband's boyfriend Lorraine is never fully explored, when it was suspected (at the time) that he poisoned her. The language of the novels seems stilted, in a way, with a very conservative, 1950s view on sex, a major part of Court life during Charles's reign. Another thing I didn't like (and this may be because these books were intended to be completely separate) was that they would rehash old material--for example, Charles's return to London and his coronation were described several times, in context with his relationships with the women in the novel.

I agree with other reviewers, who say that there were many typos; it looks as though they just copied the older editions for this reprint and didn't make the necessary changes.

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good stuff that still needs better proofreading!, November 7, 2005

By 

Delamaine "Formerly Belacane" (Seattle Eastside) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Loves of Charles II: The Stuart Saga (Paperback)

I have been reading Jean Plaidy's older works, starting with "The Bastard King," in their original printing from about 1970. There were many typographical errors in those older editions. Sadly it appears that the publisher of her newer editions (released in trade paperback format with updated cover art) has simply re-set the existing text without proofreading.

This book is actually three of Plaidy's former novels bound together into one book, since they all deal with Charles II and his reign. The first book (regarding his exile and time spent attempting to regain the kingship) had no typos that I noticed. However, towards the middle of the second book several obvious ones crept into the text: "he wanted to keen on the King's good side," "she was leased to see him," and so forth. These became more frequent towards the end of the second book and occurred fairly regularly throughout the third book. In addition the third book had some fairly glaring typos of a worse type: "She wanted to go I hawking that afternoon..." "Buckingham .e was fuming at this treatment..." Overall it feels like the proofreader started off at the beginning of the book with a glass of wine and ended by finishing a few bottles. The book is slipshod in this respect and this is why I give only 4 stars.

As to content and writing style, this is all very much typical Plaidy and succeeded in keeping me interested in most of the characters. I've never noted Plaidy to make a serious biographical error before, but in this book she cites "Monsieur D'Artagnan" being in command of Louis XIV's forces in a battle, and D'Artagnan is a wholly fictional character. I believe that in writing historical fiction, the people and known circumstances should be kept as accurate as possible, but known fictional elements should not be introduced into the story, and so this mention of Dumas' D'Artagnan struck a very false note with me.

However, it was good reading; it kept me entertained and painted a good portrait of the Merry Monarch. Recommended, and Plaidy has redeemed herself by not continuing to portray male rulers as male monsters (see my reviews of The Lady in the Tower and Victoria Victorious for more commentary on this).