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27th out of 199 books
—
546 voters
The French Mistress: A Novel of the Duchess of Portsmouth and King Charles II
From the author of The King's Favorite-a new novel based on a dazzling and decadent true story of Restoration England.
The daughter of a poor nobleman, Louise leaves the French countryside for the court of King Louis XIV, where she must not only please the tastes of the jaded king, but serve as a spy for France. With few friends, many rivals, and ever-shifting loyalties, L...more
The daughter of a poor nobleman, Louise leaves the French countryside for the court of King Louis XIV, where she must not only please the tastes of the jaded king, but serve as a spy for France. With few friends, many rivals, and ever-shifting loyalties, L...more
Paperback, 400 pages
Published
July 7th 2009
by NAL Trade
(first published May 22nd 2009)
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Did I read a different book again? Oh well. The French Mistress is I believe the third book written by Holloway Scott recounting the lives of mistresses of Charles II of England. Louise de Kérouaille is sent to the French court to serve as maid of honor to Charles' sister Henriette-Anne, sister-in-law to Louis XIV. Louise serves her mistress faithfully and during Henriette's visit to England she catches the roving eye of Charles II, but has to return to France with her mistress. Henriette soon d...more
Susan Holloway Scott is another author whose works I have become addicted to recently. The period that covers the reign of King Charles II (1630-1685) has only recently become interesting to me. For some reason the Jacobite era - and that of King Charles I have not yet found interest in my reading choices. King Charles II, however, seems like he was a very interesting fellow - albeit a notorious womanizer who kept so many mistresses that I can't imagine how he didn't lose count! The author has w...more
I find myself justifying the position of Louise de Keroualle as she navigates the duties to family, Mistress, King, Love and Country. She was both infinitely clever and ultimately stupid. She allowed herself to settle for the tenuous position of a mistress and could never claim anything but a passing place in the life of the man she loved and the countries she was dedicated to. She was discounted by many when she was really a kind and devoted woman. She garnered many of the triumphs she sought...more
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...more
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...more
This is the third novel in this series covering King Charles II's mistresses. This one started interesting with Louise going to the French court as a maid of honor to Henriette, Charles II's sister, who was married to The French King's brother. Louise witnessed the horrific things Henriette's husband did to her, but this is where the author started getting a little to repetitious to me. By the time Henriette gets to make the trip to England to see her brother, I was starting to skim a bit. This...more
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I found this book a little disappointing. I thought the scenes involving Louise at the French court were well done, and it was fun to read about Charles II's mistresses from Louise's jealous point of view. I also like the fact that Scott made Louise sympathetic while not attempting to gloss over her faults, especially her love of riches.
Once Louise gave into Charles' advances, though, the book seemed to lag. I found the episode involving the "Popish Plot," which should have been highly dramatic,...more
Once Louise gave into Charles' advances, though, the book seemed to lag. I found the episode involving the "Popish Plot," which should have been highly dramatic,...more
I picked up this book to read following the only other Scott book I've ever read, Royal Harlot, and in preparation for the Royal Mistress challenge that I am doing next year (library copy). I greatly enjoyed the first book, finding it well written, paced well, though I couldn't attest to how historically accurate it was, not knowing much about the time period.
This book is written about much the same time as Royal Harlot, being about another of King Charles II's mistresses, Louise de Keroualle....more
This book is written about much the same time as Royal Harlot, being about another of King Charles II's mistresses, Louise de Keroualle....more
This one is a delicious romp through Restoration England with a side trip to the court of Louis XIV. For you history fans out there, it might interest you that the heroine of this tale, Louise de Keroualle is the ancestress of the Dukes of Richmond -- a great book to read on that topic is Stella Tillyard's Aristocrats. One thing that I have really enjoyed with this series so far is that the author has managed to keep from judging her characters, and instead accepts them, letting the reader form...more
The French Mistress was my first experience with the novels of Susan Holloway Scott. Though I haven't read a great deal about Scott online, I happened across a collection of her novels while I was shopping at Half Price Books 20 percent off everything sale back in December. As a fan of historicals, the gorgeous covers immediately caught my attention and, in the spirit of the sale (and my gift card) I grab all of the Scott novels on the shelf, eager to start my journey through history with Scott....more
This is a story about Louise de Keroualle. She was maid of honor to Henriette-Anne, the duchesse d'Orleans, wed to the brother of King Louis of France. The Duchesse was also brother to King Charles II of England. When The Duchess died Lousie went to England and became the mistress to Charles II. The author did a fine job with the detail of Louise's life. Lousie was one of many mistresses but she was well loved and cared for until the Kings death. She was witty and smart, and had made sure to pro...more
This is the 3rd Susan Holloway Scott book I've read and I've enjoyed her writing style in all three, as well as her very good attention to historical detail. I really liked Royal Harlot even though Lady Castlemaine was not a very nice person. She didn't have that many redeeming qualities to her beyond her beauty. Then came The King's Favorite about Nell Gwyn, and though I did not really enjoy the way the book was written, I really liked Nell.
And then came The French Mistress.
As usual, Scott's...more
And then came The French Mistress.
As usual, Scott's...more
After Royal Harlot by the same author. This was a snoozer. Unlike the bawdy, entertaining and smart Barbara Villiers, the heroine of this one, a French woman sent by the Sun King to beguile Charles II
was too pallid and likable to be very interesting. Perhaps some may like this book as Louise has a conscience and thinks of herself as basically a good woman. Of course she becomes hated in England for being French and a Roman Catholic.
The after note has her returning to France after Charles died bu...more
was too pallid and likable to be very interesting. Perhaps some may like this book as Louise has a conscience and thinks of herself as basically a good woman. Of course she becomes hated in England for being French and a Roman Catholic.
The after note has her returning to France after Charles died bu...more
Full Review Link
As Louise de Keroualle bids her family farewell and travels to Paris to become a maid of honor, she never suspects her pivotal role in the courts of kings. Louise’s mission is to secure a husband to bolster her family’s standing and dwindling fortune, but she finds herself and her particular brand of innocent beauty out of fashion in the jaded court of Louis XIV – and unwilling to participate in games and affairs of the nobility, Louise is overlooked. Because of her innocence and...more
As Louise de Keroualle bids her family farewell and travels to Paris to become a maid of honor, she never suspects her pivotal role in the courts of kings. Louise’s mission is to secure a husband to bolster her family’s standing and dwindling fortune, but she finds herself and her particular brand of innocent beauty out of fashion in the jaded court of Louis XIV – and unwilling to participate in games and affairs of the nobility, Louise is overlooked. Because of her innocence and...more
I'm not sure if it was Scott's writing or the personality of the main character that made this one such a dissapointment.
Louise de Keroualle was as irritating to me as she must have been to Nell Gwyn and Barbara Villiers.
Her self importance, her greed, her whining and her constant tears made me want to shake her and shout "shut up, you cry baby!"
Yet all this was glossed over by the author as if it shouldn't make the reader dislike the character. At one point King Charles even tells Louise (when...more
Louise de Keroualle was as irritating to me as she must have been to Nell Gwyn and Barbara Villiers.
Her self importance, her greed, her whining and her constant tears made me want to shake her and shout "shut up, you cry baby!"
Yet all this was glossed over by the author as if it shouldn't make the reader dislike the character. At one point King Charles even tells Louise (when...more
An entertaining book that moved quickly. The writing style is easy to read, without being to wordy or over ambitious. I've read other books by the author before, and it is in the same style/vein as those books.
The author balances between the politics and the relationships of the characters, which is what leaves it a little flat. Never does one seem to dominate the story; the author never digs deep into either of this and the story is thus a bit superficial.
The author balances between the politics and the relationships of the characters, which is what leaves it a little flat. Never does one seem to dominate the story; the author never digs deep into either of this and the story is thus a bit superficial.
Good grief, Ms Scott: were all of Charles' mistresses the "love of his life"? This is by far the absolute most flattering portrayl of Louise de Keroualle that I have ever seen and I'm not so sure I believe it. Good story line, but just a whole bunch of "Are you kidding me?" Especially if you're read her other books about Nell Gwynn and Barbara Castlemaine.
How could the average rating on this book be 3.43? This is a trashy love story guised to be something greater because it is a historical romance. I put it down after 20 pages. Between the poor writing and constant sexual commentary, I was done. This book is awful.
What can I say I am a historical fiction junkie!. Especially anything to do with the court of England. Hey it's my roots:) The Boy calls them "my porn", well not thaaaaat graphic. They are a goodread:)( see how I tired that in(teehee)
This book was pure crap. It wasn't even very entertaining. The "Duchess of Porthsmouth" is no heroine just a pathetic groveler.
The writing is nothing special, but from what I read on wikipedia, the history is pretty accurate.
The writing is nothing special, but from what I read on wikipedia, the history is pretty accurate.
So the entire country of England hated this woman and said she was a greedy, awful person. This book told from her perspective makes her out to be a saint. I have a sneaking suspition that the truth is somewhere in the middle
I found this book very interesting. During and after reading this I spent a lot of time on Wikipedia reading about many of the people discussed during this book.
I also enjoyed that the author did a little historical recap at the end, but would have preferred more in depth description of what happened to Louise herself.
I also enjoyed that the author did a little historical recap at the end, but would have preferred more in depth description of what happened to Louise herself.
Interesting story of Louise de Keroualle; her time at the courts of Louis XIV and Charles II, and her time as the French mistress to Charles II.
read this one last summer while recovering from surgery - it was perfect for hazy lazy summer days - enjoyed it and read another Scott as well
Jul 29, 2011
Greg Wolfson
added it
ok fiction, but not much fact. rich historical substance would be great, but is sorely lacking in this series
What can I saw I love historical fiction! Especially the English court. It's my blood! Okay this is almost as hard as FB!
The historical descriptions and politics of historical England are well done. The characters good. I personally just wasn't excited about the story, but i acknowledge it as a good attempt to tell it from a view no one has taken before.
Prendinha da Ana O.!
fine
I did learn that a lady at court must stand for upwards of 5 hours without leaving the room to powder one's nose or sip the beverages. Every page I felt the disempowerment of being born a woman.
Were I not still in an HF slump I'm sure I would've liked it more.
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Aka Miranda Jarrett
Susan Holloway Scott is the author of over forty historical novels and novellas. Writing under her own name as well as Miranda Jarrett, her bestselling books have received numerous awards and honors. With more than three million copies of her books in print, she has been published in nineteen foreign countries around the world. Her most recent historical novels have been set in...more
More about Susan Holloway Scott...
Susan Holloway Scott is the author of over forty historical novels and novellas. Writing under her own name as well as Miranda Jarrett, her bestselling books have received numerous awards and honors. With more than three million copies of her books in print, she has been published in nineteen foreign countries around the world. Her most recent historical novels have been set in...more
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