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sherrybomb's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Excellent historical fiction. The main character was truly loveable despite his many flaws and the narrative was a real roller coaster.
angus_mckeogh's review against another edition
5.0
I suppose I’m a bigger fan of historical fiction than I’ll even allow myself to admit. Looking back at my 5-star list I see it has a clump of historical fiction. But this book was phenomenal. Another cad in the annals of history. This poor loser is set up to marry a woman by Charles II so that the king can have easy, unrestricted access to her as a mistress. And that’s just where the fun starts. Highly recommended.
kimprior's review
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
jessicavampires's review against another edition
3.0
This is the second book I have read by Rose Tremain. The descriptions of life during the reign of Charles II are beautiful and gripping. I wanted to love this book but I just didn’t find myself caring enough about the characters to get truly invested, and although individual elements of the plot were engaging I was left unsatisfied by the overall arc of the plot.
emilyjia5080's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
iceberg0's review against another edition
3.0
Really interesting look at the Restoration period with some compelling characters. Ending was too easy.
alisonjfields's review against another edition
3.0
So I saw movie version of this book about a zillion years ago in a tiny arthouse theater in a second tier southern city and I was unsurprisingly the only person in the audience At the time, I did not know it had been a nove, but the movie was a mess in that wonderfully awful way that terrible attempts at prestige films can be.*
For better of worse, the novel (which is reasonably straightforward and competently written) could not possibly compete with the campy highs of the film it inspired. As a novel, it moves at a bit of a plod, which is surprising given that it manages to hit upon both the plague and the fire of London. Still, it subverts the reformed rake trope (in itself a device of any good Restoration comedy) cleverly and makes for a reasonably entertaining read.
*Maybe the world didn't need to see a bewigged and beribboned Robert Downey Jr flouncing around Sam Neill's Blackadder-ish Charles II, or for that matter a Puritan David Thewlis or Meg Ryan hilariously miscast as a schizophrenic 17th Century Irish woman. But I am telling you, people, it is/was a highly entertaining piece of luxuriously corseted crap.
For better of worse, the novel (which is reasonably straightforward and competently written) could not possibly compete with the campy highs of the film it inspired. As a novel, it moves at a bit of a plod, which is surprising given that it manages to hit upon both the plague and the fire of London. Still, it subverts the reformed rake trope (in itself a device of any good Restoration comedy) cleverly and makes for a reasonably entertaining read.
*Maybe the world didn't need to see a bewigged and beribboned Robert Downey Jr flouncing around Sam Neill's Blackadder-ish Charles II, or for that matter a Puritan David Thewlis or Meg Ryan hilariously miscast as a schizophrenic 17th Century Irish woman. But I am telling you, people, it is/was a highly entertaining piece of luxuriously corseted crap.
elinroberts's review
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0