Born into poverty and raised in a brothel, Nell Gwynne sells oranges in the pit
at London’s King’s Theater, newly reopened after th... read full description
at London’s King’s Theater, newly reopened after th... read full description
reviews
May 15, 2011
Karla (Mossy Love Grotto)
rated it: 
Gave up on page 283. The personal side of Charles II's reign has been done before, and better, by Kathleen Winsor in Forever Amber. The same characters are here: Castlemaine, Buckingham, Rochester, Nell, Minette, Duke of York, the spaniels, and the rest. There was nothing new, and nothing unique about Haeger's style to make me want to keep reading. In fact, Haeger's decision to have Nell and Rose's accent be phonetic with dropped aitches was irritating. I'd have preferred the reader be allowed t
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Nov 01, 2008
Alaine
rated it: 
This really is a tale of rags to riches. Nell started out with nothing and ended up being the favourite of the royal mistresses to Charles II. Nell was an interesting character who used humour to cope with the difficulties she faced in her life. We could certainly all do with a dose of that in our lives.
Charles II was undoubtedly a man whore, he chased everything that moved. I wouldn't be surprised if what he really died from was a sexually transmitted disease. The man was certainly a stud More...
Charles II was undoubtedly a man whore, he chased everything that moved. I wouldn't be surprised if what he really died from was a sexually transmitted disease. The man was certainly a stud More...
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Mar 24, 2011
Taylor
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Review: The Perfect Royal Mistress was a breath of fresh air. This was my first encounter with King Charles II and despite all of his affairs I actually admire him as a King. He had to deal with his father’s, King Charles I, murder as a young boy, which greatly affected his adult life. Diane Haeger did a great job with setting the tone for the book. I found the characters to be well developed and well researched.
What I loved so much about this book was how descriptive it was for exam More...
What I loved so much about this book was how descriptive it was for exam More...
Jul 28, 2010
Mitzi
rated it: 
This book read like a run of the mill historical film with lots of attention paid to the costumes and furniture. The women twitter about and the men are power hungry libertines. The women use what they can to secure a future for themselves and that usually involves sex. (Still, like those movies, that usually involves lots of bedsheets and fading to black). Nell Gwyene is no different--she rises from an orange girl to an actress to the kings mistress and even bears him a son, ensuring financ
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Jun 19, 2011
Orsolya
rated it: 
Move aside Cinderella, Nell Gwynne puts your rags to riches story to shame! Everyone should have an introduction (hopefully it will grown into a love) of Charles II's mistress, Nell Gwynne. Unlike the sex-crazed and overly ambitious mistress (and cousin of the Duke of Norfolk) Barbara Villiers (Lady Castlemaine), Charles's childhood crush the Duchess of Mazarin, Lucy Walter, the countless actresses, or even his wife Catherine whom he loved more like a sister than with any passion; Nell possesed
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Jun 27, 2010
Christy
rated it: 
It started out well enough: political machinations, the London fires, the potential for a steamy read...and it fell quite flat. After a few chapters, the phonetic voices of Nell and her sister were more annoying than endearing and her dialogue, which was supposed to be brash and witty, was actually quite dull.
I felt that there wasn't much depth to Nell's character, and while it was based on a real person, as fiction, liberties could have been taken to make the character more vivid. More...
I felt that there wasn't much depth to Nell's character, and while it was based on a real person, as fiction, liberties could have been taken to make the character more vivid. More...
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Dec 14, 2009
Ari
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Dec 27, 2011
Holly
rated it:
I liked this book. It took some time to get through, but I like how the characters and conversation were written. Nell was really entertaining, and it was surprising to see how bratty and spoiled the King could act. My favorite part was when Nell was speaking very bluntly (and rudely) to the king and some of his men while they were in disguise. It was cool how the king thought her funny and refused to let his followers reveal who he was to her. When Nell realized that it had been Charles later o
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Jul 29, 2011
Mirah
rated it:
Unfortunately, I didn't like this as much as I was hoping I would. I thought it was rather shallow. I like historical fiction that gets a little deeper into the minds of the characters...I feel like this one only touched the surface. I didn't really know anything about Nell Gwynne and that was redeeming because I wanted to know how her story would end. The writing was good, but it seemed to lack that spark that really kept me interested. I had a hard time keeping track of how much time has
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Jan 30, 2011
Rio (Lynne)
rated it:
There are several books out there about Nell Gwynne. I chose to read this one first because I loved Diane's Courtesan. This one on the other hand fell kind of flat for me. I did enjoy it, I just didn't love it. After reading two books now on Charles II, I can honestly say I am not a fan. Talk about a man who couldn't handle any conflict. If he could have learned to say "no" to his women, instead of feeling guilty and had stopped wasting England's money on his mistresses, he might have
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Jan 05, 2011
Denise
rated it:
A good bit of entertainment for a cold winter's night reading. Romantic and heart-felt book about the relationship between Nell Gwynne and King Charles II. Nell was from the slums of London. Raised in a brothel by a prostitute mother, she wrangled her way onto the London stage and became a comedic legend. Along the way she was noticed by the king (Charles II) and ultimately became one of his many royal mistresses. What began as simply a sexual relationship evolved into a love affair that lasted
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Aug 04, 2011
Amanda
rated it:
The Perfect Royal Mistress tells the story of young Nell Gwynn, a fascinating historical character who has been explored by a number of different writers. Nell's rags to riches story is one of the most unique stories in history, as well as one of the most fascinating.
Nell was making her living by selling oranges to theatre patrons at the popular King's theatre. While most women of her status -born into poverty and raised in a brothel -have little option other than to sell their bodies, More...
Nell was making her living by selling oranges to theatre patrons at the popular King's theatre. While most women of her status -born into poverty and raised in a brothel -have little option other than to sell their bodies, More...
Jul 24, 2010
Kerry
rated it:
The Perfect Royal Mistress is the story of Nelly Gwynne and her rise from poverty to become a famous actress and then mistress to England’s King Charles II. The book’s main charm is its title character. The author does a great job of making Nelly charming, witty and spunky. Nelly’s straightforward nature and well known humor would have been enough to carry the story but Diane Haeger gives her added depth and history which makes her truly sympathetic. And Nelly needs all the sympathy she can get
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Aug 20, 2008
Misfit
rated it:
This is the rags to riches story of Nell Gwynne, a one time orange girl and then actress of The King's Theatre who captured the heart of Charles II, The Merry Monarch. Since two other reviewers have done such a fine job of recapping the story, I needn't rehash it again.
While I thoroughly enjoyed the story, I felt the characters could have been better defined. Maybe it's because I've read Forever Amber and Dark Angels: A Novel and I kept wishing for more like that. The author did a n More...
While I thoroughly enjoyed the story, I felt the characters could have been better defined. Maybe it's because I've read Forever Amber and Dark Angels: A Novel and I kept wishing for more like that. The author did a n More...
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Oct 31, 2010
Freda
rated it:
Haeger captures the charm and character of Nell perfectly, even to the witty dialogue. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, which moved along at a cracking pace. Charles is sympathetically portrayed although he is no more faithful to his adored Nell than to the gentle Queen Catherine. His weakness over women is all too evident, but also his undying loyalty to a barren wife.
Nell is not overly ambition, her only object initially being to survive, to feed herself and her sister Rose and esca More...
Nell is not overly ambition, her only object initially being to survive, to feed herself and her sister Rose and esca More...
Feb 18, 2009
Sierra
rated it:
I'm not sure if this book was actually really good or if I had just finished reading a really bad book so it just SEEMED good by comparison. Either way, I enjoyed The Perfect Royal Mistress. It was light and easy to read with pretty accurate historical detail. Sometimes the descriptive language got a little repetitive (the descriptions of Nell's laugh as "earthy" for example, and the description of King Charles's chest hair as thick and black), but overall it was a pretty good book.
Jan 01, 2011
Kirsten
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I enjoyed this, but I admit that I knew very little about it when coming in (looking at other reviews, I see that many think this story has been better told elsewhere). The political subplots didn't fit very well, in terms of tone or content, and I mostly skimmed those. I liked Nell, but most of the rest of the characters were a bit thinly drawn - I would have liked more Charles, to see what drove him and made him tick.
Jun 26, 2011
Sarah
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Liked the beginning with its possibilities but had a tendency to fall flat in the interactions between Charles and Nell. I felt the author was simply connecting the story from one date to the next. As historical fiction goes it was still amusing and Nell's personality was extremely likeable, it just never interacted with the King as I had hoped it might.
Jan 10, 2010
Ann
rated it:
A good read; and I was surprised at the end to find out the story was based on actual people. I knew the king and the time period et all were based on fact but most of the storyline is also based on true occurrances. Once more I enjoy the writings of Diane Haeger who I think does an excellent job in writing fact and blending it with an entertaining story.
May 28, 2011
I found this book through www.whatshouldireadnext.com. I love this site! You enter books you have read, that you enjoyed, and the site pulls up a list of books to read, based upon your input. For this book, I was using the search for "The Thirteenth Tale", Diane Setterfield's novel, which I truly enjoyed.
I am a little over halfway through, and so far, it's enjoyable. I am surprised that I actually like this book, because I am not a huge fan of romance-type novels. I as More...
I am a little over halfway through, and so far, it's enjoyable. I am surprised that I actually like this book, because I am not a huge fan of romance-type novels. I as More...
Sep 14, 2009
Junnie
rated it:
Eh...this was an enjoyable read but sometimes the whole courtesan thing where Nell is just waiting and hoping that her King will bed her again gets pretty old. I don't think that the writing of Nell's zingers gets good until the end. The supposedly witty lines fell flat with me during the first half of the book and then it got better.
Jun 29, 2008
Allison
rated it:
I had stumbled upon this book by accident, but I quickly fell in love with the clever and spunky Nell Gwynne. I can honestly say I have not encountered historical fiction quite this engaging since I read The Other Boleyn girl several years ago. The character of Nell is so real and believeable on the page, I was simply blown away!
I didn't think it was perfect- as my score reflects. Although I absolutely loved Nell's character, I HATED her hubby, and found myself (more often than not) More...
I didn't think it was perfect- as my score reflects. Although I absolutely loved Nell's character, I HATED her hubby, and found myself (more often than not) More...
May 17, 2009
Lauren
rated it:
This is the original Cinderella and even Pretty Woman story. A poor orange seller becomes one of the most remembered and adored mistrisses of all time. The story line is great and I love reading about Francis's many affairs.
Dec 03, 2008
Mickey
rated it:
Excellent fictionalization of the long affair between Charles II of England and actress Nell Gwynne. Not a lot of smut, if that's what you're looking for, most of the sex goes on after a fade to black.
Aug 05, 2011
Maxine
rated it:
Another favorite era of mine--the Restoration court of Charles II. The Merry Monarch and his mistresses always make interesting reading.While this one wouldn't go into my "memorable" file, I liked it.
May 12, 2010
Joyleen
rated it:
I just didn't like this character (Nell Gwynne), although I did like the portrayal of the other characters. Haeger is no Philippa Gregory, but I did enjoy her style enough to try another of her books.
Sep 19, 2010
Brooke
rated it:
Loved it! This is a rags to riches story about a low born London girl who rises from an orange seller outside the King's Theatre to the become the beloved mistress of Charles II. The author portrays Nell Gwynne as witty, warm, and wise in stark contrast to the vapid and demanding rivals that she must endure throughout her time with the king.
Aug 04, 2010
Amber
rated it:
I think this book is the first historical fiction (or even historical non-fiction, for that matter) that I have read concerning King Charles II of England and his famous and most-loved mistress, the low-born Nell Gwynne. Set in the seventeenth century, this is a rags-to-riches story based on truth.
Read the full review here.
Read the full review here.
Jul 20, 2009
Ashlee
rated it:
I liked this book alot. It was different from any other historical fiction book I have read. A good rags to riches story.
Feb 22, 2011
Gloriavirtutisumbra
rated it:
Diane Haeger has the gift of making main characters you end up adoring by the end of the novel. This one was no less of an adventure, and i appreciate how she includes the world picture of the times and how it affects her story's everyday world.
