The French Mistress: A Novel of the Duchess of Portsmouth and King Charles II

What could be better than reading about the sumptuous life of a favourite love in Charles II's life? Compound this with an in-depth look at the life of his beloved sister Henriette (whom I simply adore); seen through the eyes of our heroine, Louise de Keroualle, her principle maid-in-waiting- and you have a book that I just devoured. Although Louise came from an average background, her honourable and loyal family, through merit, was granted the privilege of sending her to the French Court at the service of Madame Henriette. Due to Louise's genuine kindness and honesty, absolute loyalty, prim demeanor, chaste morals and devoutness to her Catholic faith, this lady-in-waiting raised the bar for herself and soon became Madame's closest, most trusted and devoted companion. Poor Henriette (also called Minette), led a tragic life at the hands of her husband, le Duc D'Orleans (her first cousin as well as Louis XIV's brother). Finding no love in this demeaning relationship, she gave herself completely to the cause of re-kindling ties between France and England through her brother Charles II and her cousin, Louis XIV. This project consumed her completely; bringing her much of the sanity needed to survive (although briefly) through it all. Henriette dedicated her time in planning her most-awaited reunion with her brother, whom she adored to no end. She would spend endless hours talking to Louise about her brother's exceptional qualities, along with his charms and loving manners towards the ladies. Henriette thought the world of her brother and this image she portrayed of Charles as being the most perfect, kindest, gentlest and most handsome man ever, helped propel him into the role of hero of Louise's love fantasies. Young and very impressionable, she became enamoured of King Charles II. Before even meeting him, Charles became Louise's secret Love of her life. The reality though, was that Louise's family wanted her to remain true to her virtues and morals in order to soon marry high, and well. Louise abided by these wishes by keeping herself chaste and pure until she would find a suitable husband...something quite uncommon in Louis XIV's Royal Court. In fact, most of the ladies surrounding Louise aspired to catching the King's fancy and becoming his mistress. Let alone that she did not think Louis her type (another rarity), she herself, being dark-haired; completely the opposite of the blonde fair look that was all the rave- Louise was probably not the most sought out gal at court. So, lucky for Louise, Louis did not favour her in that way; The French King would have other plans for this different beauty... These plans finally unravel when Louis allows Henriette to visit Charles in England. Madame is then reunited with her loving brother where she manages to strengthen the ties between the two countries while convincing Charles to convert to Catholicism- Madame's most important objective. This is not all that Charles is ventured into. Once he lays

I received this book as a gift, and was unfamiliar with the author. However, the book was interesting and was a great read! I would recommend it to anyone, and I am definitely going to check out other books by Susan Holloway Scott.

As a loyal fan and reader of all three of Scott's previous Charles II novels, I was quickly and very happily immersed in her latest, The French Mistress. Lots of new territory here, and Scott's recounting of Louise's life in France is really terrific stuff. This was mostly new to me. I learned a lot here, before Louise moves on the now more familiar setting of Charles's court. The use of the first person is always an entertaining way to reveal the thoughts and feelings of the subject, particularly now that Scott is so deeply into this series, and many characters are re-introduced to us through the eyes of the new protagonist. There are so many ways of interpreting and understanding the same historical person or event. Scott's way of doing it, with different points of view revealed over the course of the entire series, is endlessly fascinating and entertaining. What plot could any novelist invent that could compare to the ways these people really behaved? Sometimes truth really is stranger, and more fun, than fiction. As always, beautiful writing, and a seamless blend of historical record and Scott's remarkable imagination. I think people should read them all; these are wonderful books. Can't wait to see who turns up next!

I did not expect to like Louise de Keroualle. She was, after all, one of the Engligh King Charles II's mistresses and one of the most hated women of her time. In fact, I only chose this book because it is a historical romance, one of my true loves. The French Mistress by Susan Holloway Scott grabbed my interest from page one and held it through to the end. Scott does a phenomenal job of humanizing Louise de Keroualle, showing her as a likable, believable, and sympathetic character. No, I didn't expect to like The French Mistress. Instead, I loved it. Louise was the daughter of a poor French nobleman, and she went to court at the age of 18 to serve as a lady-in-waiting to Princess Margaret. She quickly becomes Margaret's favorite companion, although she is unnoticed at court. She joins Margaret on a trip to England and catches the eye of King Charles II. After Margaret's suspicious death, King Louis realizes Louise's value and sends her to Charles II as a gift to smooth tensions. Louise is expected to please King Charles at all costs, as well as be a spy for France. The French Mistress is an enjoyable and exhilarating portrayal of Restoration England as well as the flamboyant French court. It should not be missed. by Jennifer Melville for Story Circle Book Reviews reviewing books by, for, and about women

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) an