Royal Harlot: A Novel of the Countess Castlemaine and King Charles II

If you love reading historical novels especially those set in this time period, you will probably enjoy this book.

Europe's treatment of a King's mistress was pretty brutal and very scary most of the time. Throughout her life Barbara Castlemaine survived because of her intelligence, her understanding of the position she held, how best to use it and, more importantly, she understood what Charles II needed and wanted and used that sense and sensibility to survive. She was surrounded by foes, naysayers, some friends, and lots of envy and dislike, but most importantly she was an emotional and psychic link to King Charles II that he obviously needed to feel complete. It wasn't easy being "royalty"; Barbara knew that, grasped her opportunity and went toe-to-toe with her adversaries, defeating their many attempts to bring her down. It wasn't just her beauty and the knowledgeable sex she obviously perfected, this woman was a foxy broad who learned how to survive and if England had been smart enough to recognize her good qualities and royal acumen they would have made her Charles II's Queen. The book was a well-written story of a fascinating, extraordinary woman of her times who understood the odds against her and lived to beat them.

Charles II and His Royal Mistress Barbara Castlemaine provide colorful reading with the doings in the Court after Charles II is restored to the throne. Was Barbara only a glorified call girl or was she rather a misunderstood product of her time. Was she a good mother and provider for the five children that she bore to Charles II or only an oportunist bleeding both Charles and the english government for funds and titles with land grants using the children as an excuse. The novel is written though the eyes of Barbara, using her feelings and thoughts. Excellent novel in a unique presentation. Highly recommended for historical romance buffs.

This is the story of Barbara Palmer, notorious mistress of King Charles II of England. I had a terrible education in history--which is not to say that I had trouble with it in school, but it was deadly dull. Rote memorization of names and dates that I promptly forgot after each test. I was so bored with it that I steered clear of the subject in college, mystified by why anyone would choose such classes. All of which is just a long-winded way of explaining that before picking up this book, I had no idea who Barbara Palmer was. You can also tell that I don't read fictionalized biographies often, because I was surprised that Barbara's character wasn't sugar-coated, or made to seem noble and wise. Nor was she vilified, as she had been in life. It's a clear, fascinating, readable account of an ambitious woman who married for respectability and had a long-lasting affair with the king for power and friendship, and maybe love. Unlike Sarah Churchill in Scott's previous book, Barbara wasn't all that interested in politics. She was interested in Barbara. And then when she had children, she was interested in their welfare and future prospects. Barbara's actions were viewed as wicked and immoral at the time, and even from a modern perspective, they're not by any means admirable. But seeing the very real woman behind the actions--a very ordinary woman, even if she was celebrated for her beauty, full of both strengths and faults--was quite thought-provoking. I don't think I'll start looking for books in this genre, or researching the time period, but I will definitely be buying The King's Favorite in July.

Once again Scott does a masterful job of capturing the atmosphere and intrigues of life at court. This time the setting is the Restoration, and the notoriously licentious court of King Charles II--and at center stage is his famous/infamous mistress, the Countess of Castlemaine. Though Scott never tries to make a saint of this sinner, but shows us the woman, flaws and all, Royal Harlot makes it easy to understand why the king remained captivated for so long. This is a fascinating portrait of a complex and intriguing woman, who did as she pleased and got away with it. By turns bawdy, funny, shocking, and poignant, Royal Harlot is even better than Scott's excellent previous work, Duchess. I read it twice.

Scott's followup to last year's excellent Duchess: A Novel of Sarah Churchill is, if possible, better. She is even more sure-footed in her rendering of life at court, and in untying for her readers the political knots that are such an important part of understanding who these people were and why they acted as they did. In Barbara Villiers, Scott has chosen a fascinating, entertaining, and even somewhat appalling heroine that kept me turning pages as fast as I could. The much-vilified Countess of Castlemaine is revealed here as every bit the adventurer and schemer her detractors claim her to have been, but it takes a truly bad woman to make a great story like this one.