Eliza dreams of being a
playwright for the king’s theater, where she will be admired for her witty
turns of phrase rather than her father’s wealth. Beth is beautiful as the day
but poor as a church mouse, so she must marry well, despite her love for her
childhood sweetheart. Zabby comes to England to further her scientific
studies—and ends up saving the life of King Charles II. Soon her friendship
with him becomes a dangerous, impossible obsession. Though she knows she should
stay away from the young, handsome king, Charles has a new bride, Queen
Catherine, and a queen needs ladies in waiting. And so Zabby, Beth, and Eliza,
three Elizabeths from very different walks of life, find themselves at the
center of the most scandal-filled court that England has ever seen.
This is an interesting account
of the 1600’s in England. It’s a work of fiction, but the author clearly did
her research and utilized actual, historical characters well. Also, the time
period feels authentic, especially for the court that existed during the reign
of Charles II. England had just spent years under Cromwell, who imposed radical
puritanism on its people. Then the court, post-Cromwell, swung wildly the other
way.
There is a lot of
innuendo, adultery, and references to sexual practices. For that reason, this
isn’t really a book for younger teens. But I think older teens, say 16 and up,
will find this interesting. The feel of the time period seems authentic, as
well as the situations of many of the characters. For the most part, I enjoyed
this story. The parts I didn’t enjoy are just personal taste.
For example, I’m not
big into scandal. But Charles II’s court was rife with it, many of which
were cause by him. He was notorious for having mistresses and acknowledged
nearly a dozen illegitimate children. If that doesn’t set a precedent, I don’t know
what does. Hence, there is a lot of drama and scandal between several
characters. That said, there are no gratuitous mean girls, and the drama that unfolds still
feels authentic to the time period.
Even with the promise
of scandal and drama, this is a pretty quiet book. It’s character driven, so
there’s not adventure on every page. Yet it was still interesting enough to
keep me reading. The romance is on the lighter side, too, which was fine with
me. I think some readers might take issue with the ending, but I enjoyed it. It
felt like Shakespeare, in a way, and I thought it fit the story well.
If you’re looking for
an historical novel that feels authentic to the time period, you might enjoy
this book. If you’re looking for a romance that happens to be set in an
historical time period, this probably isn’t the book for you.