The Countess and the King:
A Novel of the Countess of Dorchester and King James II

Readers' Guide/Questions for Discussion

  1. Most royal mistresses are famous for their great beauty, but Katherine Sedley was better known for her plain face and wit. What do you think her life would have been like had she been born a beauty instead?
  2. James II has been traditionally portrayed as one of England’s worst kings: a religious fanatic, a bigot, a sadist, and a tyrant. Recent historians, however, have been more sympathetic, viewing James as a man whose responsibilities exceeded his abilities, and whose strong personal beliefs and principles did not reflect those of his subjects. He also had the misfortune to follow his older brother Charles II, a charming, charismatic ruler much loved by his people and endlessly skilled at the behind-the-scenes diplomacy so popular in Baroque courts. In other words, James wasn’t so much a bad king, as the wrong king for 17th c. England. Do you agree?
  3. Katherine and James made unlikely lovers. Katherine embodied so many things that James claimed to be against: she was a Protestant, the daughter of an outspoken Whig, and a ribald participant in Charles II’s decadent court. Yet even after 300 years, there’s little doubt that he cared for her, and repeatedly defended her against his political and religious advisors. Why do you think he loved her? How do you think he reconciled their love with his own strict Catholic beliefs?
  4. James’s first wife, Anne Hyde, was born a commoner. While it would have been politically disaterous (and very unlikely) for him to have chosen another wife who wasn’t a foreign princess, would Katherine have fared better as James’s wife than his mistress? Do you think James would have been a better king if Katherine had been his queen?
  5. Seventeenth-century Anglican England was fiercely anti-Catholic, often to the point of hysteria. Yet while only about 20% of the population worshipped as Roman Catholics, the country remained terrified of the Catholic Church, and the perceived power of prominent Catholics like James and the Duchess of Portsmouth. Do you think these fears were reasonable, or only religious intolerance?
  6. Sir Charles Sedley could hardly be called a responsible father to Katherine, yet throughout their lives, their relationship remained much closer than many other noble fathers and daughters of their time. What do you think he did right –– and wrong –– as a father to a girl like Katherine?
  7. Born shortly before Charles II’s return to the throne in 1660, Katherine was very much a product her times. Unlike the well-bred girls of the Elizabethan era who read Greek and Latin, few ladies of the 1660s were educated beyond the social “graces.” Katherine, however, was exposed to much more literature and drama through her father and his friends. How do you think this shaped her personality?
  8. Katherine often stated that she was more comfortable in the company of men than women, and certainly her intelligence and sense of humor were viewed in her time as more “male.” How do you think posterity would regard her now if she’d been a man in Restoration England: would she have been a politician in Parliament, a witty courtier, or a poet like her father?
  9. Few seventeenth century English ladies were heiresses in their own right like Katherine, and even fewer had fathers who permitted them to choose their own husbands. How did Katherine’s fortune free her? How did it hamper her?
  10. While no one now will know for certain, there is reason to question the extent of the “madness” of Katherine’s mother. Some historians today view her as a truly tragic figure, an inconvenient wife who may have been pushed towards madness by the mercury-laden potions prescribed by physicians at her husband’s urging. How do you think this would have affected Katherine and her attitudes towards love and marriage?
  11. While Katherine had a rich, full life that many would envy, she always remained self-conscious of her appearance and how it affected her interactions with others. Do you think she would have felt the same insecurities if she lived today?