Merivel: A Man of His Time by Rose Tremain

This long awaited sequel to the simply marvellous Restoration, picks up the story of the highly flawed and extremely personable, Robert Merivel, physician to King Charles II, only this time, it’s 25 years or thereabouts since we last met him.

18970894Well into his twilight years, Merivel, who in the first book enjoyed then lost the patronage of his king and went on a journey of self-discovery which saw him survive the Plague, the Great Fire and life in metal asylum run by a kind group of Quakers, is this time far more settled. His beloved daughter is now a woman; he has his well-managed estate to run and his ageing servants to consider and a life well-lived to reflect upon. Ever trying to find meaning in his life, Merivel, like the famous diarist Samuel Pepys, keeps a record of his daily activities, thoughts, mishaps, sexual encounters and triumphs, sparing the reader nothing. This is part of the joy of the man and the book.

Emulating the erratic syntax of the era, in that Tremain capitalises words mid-sentence, she also manages to plunge the reader into this wonderfully decadent and politically fraught time – stylistically, but also ideologically and emotionally. Whether it’s food, fashion, habits, religion, medical procedures or class structure, she recreates the late 1600s and the turmoil of monarchy and government as well as international relations and places masterfully.

Merivel may be older, but he doesn’t feel wiser. A sense that life is slipping him by pervades and so he makes the decision to travel to the court of Louis XIV, the King’s cousin, and see the great Versailles for himself. Always afraid of what he might be missing out on, Merivel embarks on a number of other adventures, and makes some rather interesting and, on reflection poor choices, in this book. In doing so, he learns his place in the greater world and the smaller one that is his estate and family. He discovers the real meaning of love and friendship and what’s important in life. The reader champions him on this erratic journey and our affection for this volatile but kind and very philosophical man deepens.

Including Merivel, a fictional character in real historical events and having him encounter actual personages of the time imbue the book with such immediacy and Merivel himself more relevance than he already has. He becomes our touchstone for both the macrocosmic historic events and the microcosmic ones we can all identify with.

As much as it evokes the period so beautifully, the novel is also contemporary in that the questions it poses about ageing and life are timeless.

Superbly written, with humour, pathos and such understanding, this is a gorgeous book and a fitting conclusion to Merivel’s marvellous life.

 

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The Girl on the Golden Coin by Marci Jefferson

The Restoration is a fascinating period of English history, the huge religious upheavals, bigotry, fears, debates, philosophical breakthroughs and scientific discoveries are, however, often overlooked in favour of focussing on the fascinating and debauched court of Charles II and his personal sexual proclivities.

19690862As the father of between 13-18 illegitimate children (depending which account you read), Charles made up for his long period of exile and deprivation when he returned to England with great fanfare and promises – one of the main ones he made was the Declaration of Breda (before he set sail for England to take the crown) – a promise that swore religious toleration providing the religion didn’t threaten the peace of the kingdom. This was important to the English who, despite having made the decision to restore the monarchy and (mostly) enjoying throwing off the shackles of Interregnum Puritanism, were also incredibly cautious and suspicious of Popery and France.

During Cromwell’s reign, Protestantism in various guises had prospered and while the Church of England was set to return as the dominant religion along with Charles, the Parliament didn’t like what “liberty to tender consciences” implied and didn’t accept this. This was due to the fact they didn’t want Catholicism to take root in their soil ever again. Not only was Charles II’s mother a staunch Catholic, but Louis XIV, the Catholic King of France, was his cousin, so it was incumbent upon Charles to prove he had England’s best religious interests at heart. But, he also had to keep his cousin (whom he later came to depend on for financial support) happy, so the balancing act between public Protestantism and private beliefs began.

Enter, according to Marci Jefferson in her terrific novel, The Girl on the Golden Coin, Frances Stuart who, rather than simply being an object of Charles’s desires and affections, is dragged from the relative margins of history to play a central role in court and transnational politics.

Beautiful, charming and by all accounts very sweet (but according to contemporary accounts – albeit by men – not very bright), Frances was raised out of poverty by the French Court and King Louis who, like any man who came into her orbit, fell for her charms and then, at the whim of Charles’s sister who also had feelings for Louis and was jealous of the attention he was showing Frances, sent to England to remind Charles of his obligations to his cousin among other things – at least, that’s the story the way Jefferson spins it.

I’ve written before about the way women are so often elided from history, or presented as little more than ornamental, despite evidence to the contrary. Even this period – governed by the bold and large presence of King Charles who loved and, according to some historians, deeply respected women – where women took to the stage for the first time, were writing books, plays (Aphra Behn), treatises and challenging men even in the realm of science, it’s still a time that celebrates women most for their beauty, ability to seize male attention (especially the king and court) and the sensual pleasures and scandals they offered. The women we most hear and read about are the various mistresses of Charles II and his much-put-upon queen, Catherine of Braganza, as well as some of the leading actresses of the day, such as Nell Gwynne.1687-frances-stuart-1647_med

While Jefferson plunges her heroine into this male-dominated society, she foregrounds these various women as well – the quiet pious but kind queen, the brash, manipulative Barbara Castlemaine and, of course, the beautiful and sought after, Frances Stuart – a relative of the royal family – as well as some female theatre luminaries. Whereas many accounts, non-fiction and fiction discuss the fact Frances avoided the King’s overtures to make her his mistress, remaining a “virgin”, resisted his professed love and admiration for her, Jefferson turns this on its head and has Frances as an able and willing participant in an affair that almost undoes the monarchy.

While history will contest much of what Jefferson creates in this novel, I love her spin on history and the role she gives Frances. The woman cannot have been as stupid as records suggest. She made a good marriage, kept the friendship of the monarch, even after refusing him (or not if you believe the novel), befriended the queen and other women vying for Charles’s attention, and was immortalised by the king by being made the model for Britannia for a newly minted golden coin.

Rather than being side-lined by history, in this novel, Frances, like the actresses the king loved, takes centre stage and directs many a production, even if those cast don’t know it. Surviving the plague and Great Fire, through Frances’s eyes and ears, we’re given access to many bedrooms and boudoirs of the Restoration, and see many of the feminine (and male) machinations first hand. While sometimes the wider political repercussions are not made evident, this story is about Frances first and foremost and certainly, in that regard, her personal politics and decisions are the most important.

A really good read for lovers of history, the women at its heart, and this specific period as well.

 

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The Enchantress of Paris by Marci Jefferson

Having spent the last few months reading non-fiction works about the 1660s, I found Cardinal Mazarin and the influence he wielded over a young Louis XIV, featured strongly. Thus, the premise of this book, The Enchantress of Paris, by Marci Jefferson, which is ostensibly about Marie Mancini, one of the beautiful and clever nieces – known as the Mazarinettes – of the ambitious and ruthless cardinal, captured my imagination.

24832420Initially overlooked in favour of her bolder sisters, Marie, a clever, witty and all together charming young woman, bides her time. It’s time that works in her favour as she slowly but most assuredly, captures first the attention, then the heart of King Louis, and gradually begins to control much of what occurs in the Sun-King’s court.

Educated, kind and loving but at the whim of her ambitious uncle, Marie tries to resist his orders regarding the manipulation of the king, preferring instead to appeal to Louis’s heart and head. Eschewing not just her uncle’s increasingly harsher demands and punishments, and her abilities with black magic, Marie chooses to rely on her undeniable attractions to influence the man she loves – her intellect and good heart.

While Marie wants nothing more than to have Louis for herself and all that entails, her greatest ambition is to free him from her uncle’s manipulative clutches. But Louis is young, untested and has, like his mother, relied upon the cardinal since birth. With war threatening and offers of peace coming with bride-caveats, can young, lovely Marie succeed in freeing Louis from her uncle’s control where others have not only failed, but died trying?

This isn’t usually the kind of book I like in that, though I love historical fiction, I find ones that are all about unrequited passion and endless declarations of love, long looks, sighs, teary reunions etc. especially among the nobility and royalty quite tiresome. Much to my surprise, though this novel is filled with these, I found it difficult to put down and was curious as to how far young Marie would succeed in her quest to wrest the king away from those who would control him for their own ends. Familiar with some of the history, the role of the Mazarinettes, as court ornaments, as assets for their uncle to use in an endless political game, and the relationship between Marie and Louis was largely unknown, and the historical research Jefferson has done is nicely woven into this tale of passion, freedom, regret, promises, deceit and power.

Marie, as a character, is rounded and complex. Understanding the role she’s destined to play as a pawn in a larger game, she nonetheless allows herself to dream, keeps her ethics and sense of self, and maintains an optimism that’s both endearing and frustrating. Louis is less interesting and, I think, because he’s more familiar to history buffs, unable to be drawn except with recognisable strokes. The relationship between the king and Marie is at the core of the story – a story that’s also about liberty and the pursuit of that whether it be a king or a second-class citizen in the form of a noble woman desiring it. It’s also about power and how even those deemed powerless can find passive and lasting ways to exert their authority and with lasting consequences.

For those who love a strong romantic novel and have a passion for well-fictionalised history and anything to do with the Sun King, this is a book you can lose yourself in. So long as you don’t mind endless protestations of amor and adoration!

 

 

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The King’s Touch by Jude Morgan

The K222771ing’s Touch by Jude Morgan is a beautifully written book. Ostensibly the story of James, the eldest illegitimate child of Charles II, who later becomes the Duke of Monmouth, it’s also about an indulgent and indulged king who was more politicallycanny than he is often given credit. It’s also about personal and public sacrifice and its hefty cost.

Through young James, or Jemmy’s, eyes, the reader is invited to live through the fraught years of Charles Stuart’s’ exile on the continent. We’re also drawn into Jemmy’s early peripatetic years, as his mother, the fallen woman, Lucy Walter, drags her son from city to city in a desperate effort to reclaim the one man she says she loves but who appears to have discarded her – the throneless, Charles. Lucy’s descent into poverty as well as the poor decisions she makes regarding men and actions, naturally affects her son and daughter and it’s only when Charles “rescues” his child, young Jemmy, depositing him with his exiled mother and younger sister, that Jemmy’s life begins to transform.

When Charles is invited to return to England in 1660 and is crowned monarch, it’s not long before his family, including Jemmy, follow. From poor urchin to indulged bastard son of the “merry monarch” we follow Jemmy’s life and travails as he learns just what it means to be a part of this newly formed court. Yearning for his father’s affection, and attention, he is slow to grasp an understanding of his place in this new, decadent world. Morgan is at pains to portray this as an almost deliberate naivety, a stubborn refusal to abandon the dreams of childhood and a belief in good. She also juxtaposes Jemmy’s faith in others, in the world, against Charles’ more cynical one – a view born of his experiences.

As much a pawn as a beloved child who becomes a needy but loving man, Jemmy’s relationship with is father is wonderfully explored, as are the complexities of the emotional baggage both men carry.

Against the backdrop of political and religious strife and intrigue, endless wars and the scheming of ambitious women and men, never mind the sensual hedonism of the Restoration court with all its bawdy affectations and superficial promises, this is a marvellous story of familial love, passion, loathing, forgiveness, repentance and revenge.

The dialogue is rich and laden with meaning; the language so beautifully and readably crafted – I could not only imagine those involved (most often, Charles and his son) but relished the turns of phrase (some plucked straight from history) and the feelings they evoked. The settings are gorgeously and accurately drawn – as is the history – and the psychological and political games carefully constructed. It’s easy to see how those involved with the Stuart dynasty rose or fell according to their ability to aid, counter or manipulate the plots and cunning of others.

But at the heart of this novel is one needy man and the father who, though he alternately embraces his son and in doing so hints at a destiny not his to bestow, also rejects him and what he represents. It’s a tale of how family and even love must be sacrificed at the altar of politics and a greater good while also questioning why this must be so.

A magnificent read for anyone fascinated with the Stuart dynasty and the major players throughout the turbulent years of the Restoration or for those interested in a portrait of fathers, sons and families who aren’t free to love where and when they please.

 

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