The King's Favorite: A Novel of Nell Gwyn and King Charles II

Praise & Reviews

Named an Editor’s Choice Title, Historical Novels Review
Nominated for Reviewers’ Choice Award, Best Historical Biography, RTBook Reviews

As she did in her previous biographical novel, Royal Harlot, Scott infuses history into a lively, readable biographical novel. Nell Gwyn's memoir is a naughty, bawdy depiction of the era through the eyes of the orange girl who became Charles II's favorite. Scott has found a heroine who lights up the pages with her sparkling wit, natural grit and sensuality. Her innocent charm turns the tale into a highly appealing read.

Nell never said she was a lady, but she always claimed she'd rise from life in a Covent Garden bawdy house to become the king's mistress. At 13, she finds her first protector; at 14, she becomes an orange seller in the theater and catches the king's eye. In a short time she turns to the stage. It isn't just her beauty and auburn curls that captivate men; her sharp wit and love of laughter do as well.

But moving from the stage to Whitehall is dangerous. Nell has to navigate the intrigues caused by the political and religious factions in the palace. She must watch her back as those surrounding the king fight for power and Charles fights back. But she is always the one who lightens his heart.” Four & half stars; Reviewer’s Top Pick
--RTBook Reviews

“From the age of thirteen, with her mother and sister operating out of a local bawdy house, Nell Gwyn is intimately aware of her limited options. Yet she possesses two important traits that will allow her to reach higher even than she could imagine: wit and ambition. Even before she has fully matured, still trapped in a girl’s body, the petite Nell assesses her surroundings in search of opportunity. In her vivid fantasies, Nell imagines Restoration King Charles II as her lover, never doubting her ability to capture his heart. As the mistress of a merchant, Nell is introduced to the wonders of the theater. In this environment, future success unfolds, first as an “orange girl,” later as a comic actress, her skills at mimicry assuring the public’s support. That the king and his favorites also enjoy the theater allows Nell to bring her dreams to fruition.

The author takes us behind the scenes - the years of practice, hard work and careful grooming of relationships with her betters, the king’s closest friends, who will later facilitate the great drama of her life. Ambition and pride combined with true affection for her monarch give this character a special place in history, an anomaly in her lack of station, overcoming social status to be seen on the king’s arm and bear his children. Few women have bested such odds to rise from the degradation of poverty and claim the affections of a royal. Never classically beautiful, Nell personifies how wit and spirit can amplify prettiness and unprecedented success.

Nell symbolizes the bawdy side of the king’s nature, a man who responds not only to beauty but to humor, an escape from the many trials of ruling. While the king’s other mistresses make their fortunes and plan for the future, Nell, assured by her monarch that he is watching out for her interests, is unable to achieve the patents necessary for security after Charles’s death. She is faithful over the years they are together, although the same cannot be said for her lover. With loyalty her hallmark (as indicated by an enduring friendship with the talented, self-destructive John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester), Nell well understands her position and suffers the consequences. In her devotion, she lives for the moment, the years rich with intimacy, ribald jokes and her unique talent for making the king laugh.

It is this quality the author captures best: a common, talented woman who gives her heart for the love of her monarch, her days filled with joy as long as she can make entertain him. Indeed, she accepts her place - and it is at the side of her beloved.

In Holloway Scott’s portrait, Nell Gwyn personifies the humor of Charles’s court, the hedonistic, decadent nature of a man long separated from his rightful place. As a woman, Nell finds her niche, bred of laughter and passion, only to fall by the wayside when Charles passes from the throne, her happiness no insurance for the future. Like a bright comet, Nell’s sojourn on the stage of history is brief but brilliant, the king and the commoner capturing the public’s imagination. Four Stars
-- Curled Up with a Good Book

“I loved the story and how it was about a common woman who was strong enough to fight against the difficult position that women in this era were forced.  It was a story of a strong woman who was seemed to be a generally “good” person trying hard instead of  some spoiled nobility trying to better her family’s position.  As you can tell, I love Nell, even with all her faults.

Again, Ms. Scott provides information about the history of the time period.  I like to read about the history within the structure of a story as it adds something without being boring.  I also enjoyed how “the royal harlot” made an appearance in this novel, too.  When viewed from Nell’s eyes and not her own, I got a whole different picture of Lady Castlemaine.
Ms. Scott is a must-read author for me now.  I can’t wait until her next book, The French Mistress, comes out in July.  This one will be about another of King Charles II’s mistresses, Duchess of Portsmouth.  This duchess did make several appearances in The King’s Favorite and I can’t wait to see the world through her eyes!”
-- Book Escape

“After two decades at the top of her profession Nell Gwynn “never claimed to be a lady”. However, the royal mistress was proud how far she climbed from being a young teen in 1661 London working at Madam Ross’ bawdy house. In 1662 at thirteen she obtains her first “guardian” Mr. Duncan who protects her. A year later, Nell obtains works as an orange seller at the Royal Theater where the recently returned to the throne King Charles Stuart likes what he sees. She goes on stage and soon leaves the theater to perform her greatest and longest running role, two decades at Whitehall; where lying backstabbers invoke the name of God, country and other babble to claim the moral high ground. However, she is the only one who lightens the load of King Charles II.

“This is an entertaining fictionalized memoir that brings alive from an “insider’s” perspective a transformation period in English history as Cromwell is out and the Stuarts are back in. Nell comes across as intelligent and witty as she uses double entendres to get the better of hypocrites who claim to know what is morally best for others (sounds so contemporarily familiar). Genre fans will appreciate the life and times of THE KING’S FAVORITE, as the “DUCHESS” of biographical fiction Susan Holloway Scott provides an insightful seventeenth century tale.”
-- Genre Go Round Reviews