Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"I would love one king so that I might please another.", July 7, 2009
Holloway Scott makes a valiant effort to rehabilitate one of the most reviled courtesans of Charles II of England's Restoration court. An innocent when first sent to the French court of Louis XIV, Louise de Keroualle cuts her teeth on political intrigue as lady-in-waiting to Charles' sister, Henriette-Anne, wife of the cruel Duc d' Orleans. Louise becomes an integral part of a critical intrigue of the era: a secret treaty between France and England. Louise styles herself "the secret cause of the secret treaty". Adept at adjusting to political expedience and personal aggrandizement, de Keroualle bears witness to the indignities suffered by her mistress, developing an attachment to King Charles from afar. After the duchess d'Orleans' tragic- and suspicious- death, Louise is sent by the French monarch to Charles's court, there to insinuate herself into his life and serve as a vital link between the two kings.
Holloway Scott introduces her protagonist as a young, impressionable girl, loyal to her mistress and shocked by the debauchery of the French court, rivaled only by Charles' hedonistic court in an age of libertines, political opportunists and extravagant spending. Her first lesson: trust no one but yourself. From a penniless lady-in-waiting to the intimate of kings, Louise propels herself through beauty, wit and guile into a position that is virtually unassailable, one of the randy Restoration king's most beloved paramours until his death, when she is credited with guiding him back to the True Religion, Louis's most fond aspiration. De Keroualle is nothing if not inventive, her beauty guaranteeing interest, then a gradual seduction and legitimate love affair with the king even though the sophisticated Charles realizes Louise is an agent of the French monarch: "Now I will grant that innocence is relative and mine was worn and tattered indeed."
The most compelling aspect of this fictional recreation is the kabuki theater enacted by two kings whose secret treaty pours much-needed funds into English coffers. Certainly, Louise benefits from the secret payments, secure in her exquisite rooms as England reels with an impending war with the Dutch and Parliament determines to keep their king Protestant in spite of his fascination with all things French. Outliving her beloved by fifty years, the intrepid de Keroualle fulfills a long-ago prophecy, "prized by two kings, a duchess in my own right and mother to a duke". Yet for all her cleverness, the acquisitive Louise fails to spark this reader's imagination in contrast to the king's other notable paramours, lacking the voluptuous passion of the fertile Barbara Castlemaine or the bawdy humor of stage actress Nell Gwyn. Surrounded by powerful men, liaison between kings, Louise de Keroualle teases, manipulates and instigates, victim of a plot to defame her, yet firmly entrenched in the affections of the charismatic, hedonistic Charles Stuart. Luan Gaines/ 2009.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"A queen among kings, yet without a crown of her own", July 8, 2009
The French Mistress is the story of Louise de Keroualle, beloved paramour to King Charles II of England.
Louise's journey to prominence begins at the court of King Louise XIV where she was sent to serve as Maid of Honor to his sister-in-law, the Duchess d'Orleans. Henrietta, or as she was known at court, Madame, is also sister to the king of England, Charles II. Louise and Madame form a strong friendship over time and Madame comes to depend on Louise almost exclusively.
When Madame travels to England and Louise is of her party, she and Charles meet for the first time. They are infatuated with each other immediately. Really, Louise had already fallen in love with Charles through stories told to her by Madame of his kindness, mercy and honor. Henrietta, or Minette, and Charles have a singularly close relationship, quite an extraordinary thing for Royal siblings. Indeed, it is my belief that the strong bond that was to form a little later between Charles and Louise is strongly based on their equal love and affection of Henrietta.
After Madame mysteriously falls ill and passes away, Louise's future is uncertain and she is left to await her fate. Louise XIV and his councilors, aware of the monarch's affection for Louise, commission her to join Charles II's court with the purpose of becoming his mistress, getting close to him and then pass on vital information to France. Louise readily agrees, but has an agenda of her own.
Nell Gwyn and Barbara Palmer (Lady Castlemaine) are the principal mistresses at the time of Louise's arrival and although they don't pose much threat, at least one of them benefits from mocking and ridiculing her mannerisms. Being that Louise is French (mortal enemies of Englishmen since forever) and a Roman Catholic in a Protestant country still hostile towards anyone of the Old Religion, she is not what you would call popular. Nor does she care. Louise is there to love her man and to reap the benefits of that relationship. I'd say she does a good job: when all is said and done, Louise does walk away with more honors than Nell and Barbara combined. With all of these gorgeous women fighting for his time, you can see why Charles II was nicknamed the "Merry Monarch"!
I very much enjoyed Ms. Scott's portrayal of Louise and style of writing in general. The way she wrote Louise put me in mind of Jean Plaidy in regards to painting the heroine as authentically as possible, letting the reader form their own opinion. I can imagine the difficulty in that - what writer wouldn't want a perfect heroine and what writer doesn't form their own opinion over time of said heroine?
The French Mistress is highly recommended by yours truly and you know I would never steer you wrong! Susan Holloway Scott writes one fantastic author, Louise is a fascinating heroine and Charles is as charming as ever, you'll see why the ladies loved him!
Now I am off to get my hands on Susan's other novels - The King's Favorite (A Novel of Charles II and Nell Gwyn) and Royal Harlot (A Novel of the Countess of Castlemaine and Charles II).
A big thanks to NAL/Penguin and Susan Holloway Scott for providing me with hours of reading pleasure!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
THE MERRY MONARCH'S FRENCH MISTRESS..., September 19, 2009
Those who like historical fiction will enjoy this book about a lesser known mistress of King Charles II of England, Louise de Keroualle, the Duchess of Portsmouth. Reviled in her day by the English for being French, as well as Catholic, Louise began life as the daughter of an impoverished French nobleman.
Growing up in her family's crumbling chateau in the French countryside, her life changed when her family secured her a place in the sophisticated court of the French king, Louis XIV. There, she was ensconced as a maid of honor to the wife of the decadent notorious Duc D'Orleans, brother of the French King. The Duc's wife was none other than the sister of the English King, Charles II.
When circumstances had Louise and King Charles II meet, he quickly became smitten with her and she is with him. When fortune threw them together after the suspicious and premature death of his sister, Louise not only acted in the interests of France, she acted in her own interests. Though Louise was sent to England by the French King to ensnare the heart of the English King and spy for France, Louise and Charles would begin an enduring relationship that was to last until his death.
The story of these lovers is told by the author in a straightforward way, using a first person narrative. Well-written and steeped in period detail and intrigues, the story of Louise Keroualle is that of a woman who was determined to make the most of her situation and in the process found love, wealth, and a place in history.
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