Scan barcode
aliaspaine's review against another edition
5.0
I rarely give books a 5-star rating but this book deserves it - and more! I admit to being a prude when it comes to mistresses. I'm someone who really never seems to like a woman who chooses to be the lover/mistress of a married man - but I couldn't help adoring Nell Gwynn! I found myself shaking my head at Charles II for taking up with other woman after he began a relationship with Nell - why seek out others when he has someone who clearly loves him, flaws and all, and is so loyal to him? Someone who only wants to be loved and taken care of? Someone like Nell Gwynn? I do think Charles II loved her in return but... c'est la vie! I cannot wait to read more from Gillian Bagwell - especially if she can make me love, understand and adore someone as much as I now do Nell.
bluestjuice's review against another edition
2.0
Once, when I was eight or ten or twelve, I stumbled across an illustration of a Nell Gwynn Halloween costume in a book of costume ideas: it was a fairly generically wenchy 17th-century gown, a flirty look, and a pair of oranges. Twenty years later, I had added to this mental image the vague idea that Nell Gwynn was some king's mistress, but I still didn't know where the oranges came in. Or anything else.
The Darling Strumpet covers Nell's life from around 10 or so until her death shortly before 40. It covers a lot of ground for a book that's less than 300 pages long, and because of that, at times it seemed to gloss over parts of the story or whisk through years. I found the first third of the book quite interesting, which proves I apparently have a stronger stomach for wretchedness than many other reviewers, but the middle of the book dragged on for me. I wish I had had a stronger sense of Nell's character - she seemed to waffle distractingly throughout the twists and turns of her life, and her defining characteristics seemed to be conveyed more by what the other characters said about her than by what she was shown doing. Specifically, she's supposed to be this winsome, winning, cheerful woman, beloved by all (or most) she meets, but the book more often showed her in moments of weakness or self-doubt or whininess. I frequently found myself lacking an understanding of why she did certain things, or would ascribe them to certain fears/character flaws that wouldn't prove to be ongoing over time. Her character just seemed a little piecemeal to me. There were some decidedly dramatic moments of murder, danger, etc, that didn't seem to suit the overall narrative, which was fairly plodding once Nell stopped having to worry about starving on the street. I did think the final 50 pages or so did a nice job of conveying a sense of melancholy, of time having moved on, although at a certain point the emotional investment for me as a reader was pretty much exhausted. Overall, this was a somewhat engaging read, and I'm pleased to now have a better framework to fill in my idea of Nell Gwynn, but I think another author could turn her fascinating life into a more fascinating story.
The Darling Strumpet covers Nell's life from around 10 or so until her death shortly before 40. It covers a lot of ground for a book that's less than 300 pages long, and because of that, at times it seemed to gloss over parts of the story or whisk through years. I found the first third of the book quite interesting, which proves I apparently have a stronger stomach for wretchedness than many other reviewers, but the middle of the book dragged on for me. I wish I had had a stronger sense of Nell's character - she seemed to waffle distractingly throughout the twists and turns of her life, and her defining characteristics seemed to be conveyed more by what the other characters said about her than by what she was shown doing. Specifically, she's supposed to be this winsome, winning, cheerful woman, beloved by all (or most) she meets, but the book more often showed her in moments of weakness or self-doubt or whininess. I frequently found myself lacking an understanding of why she did certain things, or would ascribe them to certain fears/character flaws that wouldn't prove to be ongoing over time. Her character just seemed a little piecemeal to me. There were some decidedly dramatic moments of murder, danger, etc, that didn't seem to suit the overall narrative, which was fairly plodding once Nell stopped having to worry about starving on the street. I did think the final 50 pages or so did a nice job of conveying a sense of melancholy, of time having moved on, although at a certain point the emotional investment for me as a reader was pretty much exhausted. Overall, this was a somewhat engaging read, and I'm pleased to now have a better framework to fill in my idea of Nell Gwynn, but I think another author could turn her fascinating life into a more fascinating story.
ryannkm's review against another edition
3.0
If you enjoy historical fiction like Phillipa Gregory, you will likely enjoy Darling Strumpet. The best part of the story was the characterization of Nell herself. It was easy to root for her as the author wrote her.
Warning: I'm not clear how much was fact or fiction, though certain scenes/ events I think likely weren't accurate (see some of the sexual scenarios), but in these types of novels that's not an issue for me if the writer takes liberties.
Warning: I'm not clear how much was fact or fiction, though certain scenes/ events I think likely weren't accurate (see some of the sexual scenarios), but in these types of novels that's not an issue for me if the writer takes liberties.
violetamethyst's review against another edition
3.0
Everyone dies in the end. Its oddly satisfying. Though I wish the circumstances could be different and Nell could have been with Hart forever. Its so sad to see how accepting he is of the fact that he will eventually lose her to someone with more power and money. He was absolutely my favourite character in this entire bloody book.
rosetyper9's review against another edition
4.0
This was a very interesting and delving read. I love history, and I love history about English monarchs, it's always so smutty and dramatic. I had never read anything yet about this Nell or Charles the II, that I remember at least, and I was very intrigued to keep reading. Nell seemed to step into the world of the King and court at a time when things were changing. I loved seeing all the players in this book and the addition to women actors as the book progressed. I really loved the dynamic and interaction of the characters to the surrounding world.
I love Nell, she is strong, and she does what she needs to do to survive, and I always respect that in a women. Charles, however, is rather despicable, but he is the King and I guess he gets to do what he wants, as it usually is. I enjoyed this book and I recommend any history lovers out there pick it up. Also recommend if you want a nice, enjoyable, historically smutty, read.
I love Nell, she is strong, and she does what she needs to do to survive, and I always respect that in a women. Charles, however, is rather despicable, but he is the King and I guess he gets to do what he wants, as it usually is. I enjoyed this book and I recommend any history lovers out there pick it up. Also recommend if you want a nice, enjoyable, historically smutty, read.
mindsplinters's review against another edition
4.0
Utterly charming in addition to feeling very well researched. There were a few moments of abrupt forward movement (short segments to indicate the passage of time) and that was a bit awkward but there were never too many and Nell herself was so very, very charming and sweet that you just rolled with it.
writer09's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
bookhero6's review against another edition
4.0
I received this book from Goodreads Firstreads, though I am by no means the first to read it.
I first became acquainted with Nell Gwynn many years ago when first I read Kathleen Winsor's "Forever Amber," when there she was presented as an upstart rival to Amber in her headlong rush to destruction. I've oft wondered at the appeal of this unlikely heroine. Reading this, I wonder how much Kathleen Winsor drew upon Nell Gwynn's story for her Amber.
Here Gillian Bagwell presents an amiable and likable heroine. She gives life and breath to Nell Gwynn, and makes her utterly sympathetic. This story brought me to tears at points.
It has just enough historical detail to make it comfortable to read without having to do any research (but with any historical novel worth its mettle, I find myself researching the characters nonetheless) and to make it feel like a memoir rather than fluffy fiction, but not so much that the story is lost to the history.
I have always found the lives of courtesans to be interesting, but was never too much interested in Nell Gwynn. She seemed too much like a common prostitute to me and I wondered how she had become so popular. This novel brings her to life in enriching detail and leaves me not wondering at all but sympathetic to her cause.
Given her history described within, she is indeed "the darling strumpet," and I was pleased to note that "pretty witty Nell," still has living descendents. And I suppose that is the crux of the matter. This book made me wish Nell, or some part of her, was still alive.
Within this book she feels very much alive and I want her to continue on. She is charming and witty and feels like a friend by the end of this book. The parts which seem most unbelievable (like the deathbed scene) are natural feeling and elicited no scoff of derision within this reader for their unbelievability.
I think one of the many strengths of this book was the secondary characters. They were all real and likable, in their own way. This is the kind of historical fiction that I like to read: grounded in reality but where the obvious fiction still feels real and sucks me in emotionally.
I cannot wait to read more works by this author.
I first became acquainted with Nell Gwynn many years ago when first I read Kathleen Winsor's "Forever Amber," when there she was presented as an upstart rival to Amber in her headlong rush to destruction. I've oft wondered at the appeal of this unlikely heroine. Reading this, I wonder how much Kathleen Winsor drew upon Nell Gwynn's story for her Amber.
Here Gillian Bagwell presents an amiable and likable heroine. She gives life and breath to Nell Gwynn, and makes her utterly sympathetic. This story brought me to tears at points.
It has just enough historical detail to make it comfortable to read without having to do any research (but with any historical novel worth its mettle, I find myself researching the characters nonetheless) and to make it feel like a memoir rather than fluffy fiction, but not so much that the story is lost to the history.
I have always found the lives of courtesans to be interesting, but was never too much interested in Nell Gwynn. She seemed too much like a common prostitute to me and I wondered how she had become so popular. This novel brings her to life in enriching detail and leaves me not wondering at all but sympathetic to her cause.
Given her history described within, she is indeed "the darling strumpet," and I was pleased to note that "pretty witty Nell," still has living descendents. And I suppose that is the crux of the matter. This book made me wish Nell, or some part of her, was still alive.
Within this book she feels very much alive and I want her to continue on. She is charming and witty and feels like a friend by the end of this book. The parts which seem most unbelievable (like the deathbed scene) are natural feeling and elicited no scoff of derision within this reader for their unbelievability.
I think one of the many strengths of this book was the secondary characters. They were all real and likable, in their own way. This is the kind of historical fiction that I like to read: grounded in reality but where the obvious fiction still feels real and sucks me in emotionally.
I cannot wait to read more works by this author.
amberinpieces's review against another edition
5.0
Nell Gwynn was a poverty-stricken seventeenth century Londoner who began her whirlwind of a life as first a prostitute, then as an orange-girl-turned-comedic-actress, before becoming the mistress of King Charles II of England. She became well-known throughout her acting career by the common people and the nobility. It was her more affluent contacts that led her to the king’s bed. She was witty, charming, and pretty. Nell was well-loved by the common people because she was one of them and her dislike for politics along with her lack of desire for power endeared her to the king and the nobles closest to him. They all found Nell to be a genuinely kind-hearted person. Out of the other three mistresses Charles had during Nell’s lifetime, she is usually made out to be the only one who truly loved him. I have only read books from Nell’s point-of-view, and historical fiction at that, so I cannot outright say this is historical fact, but it seems like there is truth in it. There is one thing for sure: King Charles was not lacking in virility or charisma.
Read the full review here.
Read the full review here.
ralexist's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0