Beauty & the Barbara
Since I’ve begun writing historical fiction, I’ve crossed over into a writing-world where nearly ALL the characters are based on real people. I won’t go into every one of the challenges of that kind of research in this blog; I’ll save that for another day. But to my surprise, one of the unexpected ones was having the appearances –– the “beauty”, as it were –– of those characters already determined for you by their portraits. And that beauty doesn’t always agree with contemporary conventions.
Just as most modern-day professional beauties –– fashion models and Hollywood actresses –– would have found little favor in a past that favored the more lushly appointed, it can be hard to look at three-hundred-year-old portraits with modern eyes and see the same thing. My next book, ROYAL HARLOT, is a fictionalized biography of Barbara Villiers Palmer, Countess of Castlemaine and Duchess of Cleveland. She was the most prominent mistress of King Charles II, and one of the baddest bad-girls in English history, which makes for a most entertaining heroine, if not perhaps the best girlfriend you’d call in a pinch. Barbara was universally regarded by her contemporaries as the most beautiful woman in 17th century England. Crowds would gather wherever she went, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. Every head would turn when she entered her box at the theatre, and even happily-wed diarist Samuel Pepys made a point of walking by her house on laundry-day, just so he could see her lace-trimmed smocks hung out to dry and fantasize like mad.
Like most famous beauties of the past, Barbara was painted repeatedly, and her portraits by Sir Peter Lily are among the most enduring “images” of the Restoration. But her beauty hasn’t traveled well through the centuries. Sure, Alexander Pope wrote “Lely on animated Canvas stole/the sleepy Eye that spoke the melting soul”, but today those bedroom-eyes look, well, kind of burned-out and druggy, and the double-chins that were so celebrated among Restoration beauties seem matronly –– especially considering that most of these paintings were done before Barbara’s thirtieth birthday.
As a history-nerd, this didn’t bother me. I am up to the challenge. But the marketing folks at my publisher were scared to death, and as a result you won’t find Barbara’s face on the cover when the book hits stores on July 3. Instead we’ll be counting on readers to supply their own mental image of what the most beautiful woman in England looked like –– even if it’s not close to the 17th century truth.
July 30th, 2007 at 12:49 pm
I just finished reading ‘A Royal Harlot’. I enjoyed it very much. I wanted to see what she looked like,(since her face was left off of the cover illustration) so I looked up on the internet. I agree with you. She does look very matronly & plain.
It was also interesting for me to learn about the Test Act you wrote about. I did further reading as a result & I learned that Test Acts are specifically banned in the US Constitution and were also the catalyst for part of the first amendment.
I am looking forward to your next book ‘The King’s Favorite’.
October 24th, 2007 at 9:21 am
I have been fascinated by the story of Barbara Villiers for over 30 years so, of course, was originally baffled by her “beauty” in Peter Lely’s portraits. Royal Harlot is the only novel I have read about her. And very good it is, too. There may be others but I haven’t come across any. I have always thought her story would make an excellent TV series…although it would have to be alot better than The Tudors, currently showing here in the UK to much criticism. I wonder who would play Barbara?
June 3rd, 2008 at 3:32 pm
As a huge fan of English Civil War and Restoration books, fiction and non-fiction alike, I was thrilled to read “Royal Harlot” when it came out last year. Well written and researched! I am looking forward to your Nell Gwyn book.
Your blog comments about how well Barbara’s beauty holds up to current standards brought a smile to my face. It is fascinating how our ideals have changed over the centuries.
Barbara’s portraits show a confident woman with a comely figure later dubbed “voluptuous” and now sadly called fat. She face and eyes held a languid, careless beauty but these, too, are not what the 21st century would regard as classic. I find it even more curious that as much as Barbara’s beauty was lauded in the 17th century, it was equally unanimous that Charles II was regarded as quite unattractive in the same span. This rejection of his looks was based on his having inherited darkly foreign Italian/French features of his ancestry rather than the more accepted Scottish/English traits.
When I examine Charles’s formal portraits (prior to the Restoration and up to about 1673 when he started to visibly age), he seems downright exotic - the embodiment of tall, dark and…well, not exactly handsome…but certainly attractive enough to hold his own against fairer contemporaries (including his brother, later King James II). It just shows that society’s concepts of beauty are ever-evolving.
July 9th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
ROYAL HARLOT is an entertaining examination of a clever woman who used her body and her looks for power. The Restoration period offers an interesting time of rebirth as the backdrop to this story. These are just a couple of the reasons why I chose to study this book for my master’s thesis on Women’s Contemporary Historical Fiction.
The biggest surprise was seeing, in your acknowledgements, your friendship with Jenny Crusie. I was one of Jenny’s students at the 2004 Maui Retreat.
Congratulations on a wonderful novel. I look forward to reading KING’S FAVORITE.
August 22nd, 2008 at 8:39 am
hmmmmm I could be dead wrong but I disagree with your publishers decision not to include Barbara’s portrait. I illustrate jacket covers so I know how tricky they can be, but I don’t think readers are so dumb to interpret a painting in the context of today’s beauty standards. Practically every painting of that century features a double chin and sleepy eyes. Anyone else feel that way?
Personally, when I saw the painting of Barbara at the NPG, I was blown away by it. She looks like a real seductress. It really captures her essense which goes beyond the shallow question of whether or not she is pretty. (I love the story of her hanging her undies out when Charle’s new wife arrives. )
Your book sounds like a real steamy summer read and I can’t wait for it to be released. good luck with the cover. Post it when you see comps.