Barbara Palmer, Countess of Castlemaine, Duchess of Cleveland, and notorious mistress of King Charles II of England often gets a bad reputation throughout history and in historical fiction works. She is often seen as selfish, spoiled, haughty, cruel, and lascivious, but there was more to this woman. She was intelligent, ambitious, spirited, and dynamic. She kept the attention, love, and desire of King Charles II for many years which was not an easy thing to do. This woman had skill in the bedroom, but in life also. In "Royal Harlot" by Susan Holloway Scott, we the meet the true Barbara, the one that captured a king and fascinated a court for years.
"Royal Harlot" tells the story of Barbara from her days as Barbara Villiers, impoverished nobility who is ambitious from the start when it comes to men and power. Barbara's voluptuous beauty catches the eye of the dashing and sexual Earl of Chesterfield and from that point on Barbara begins her love of sex and power. She eventually settles down for a hot minute and marries Roger Palmer, a proud Royalist, but her ways do not change. Barbara wants passion, power, and intrigue in her life. When Barbara is sent on a Royalist cause to the exiled court of King Charles II at The Hague she finally meets the exiled king and sparks immediately fly. Barbara becomes the mistress Charles even before he returned to the glittering throne of England. When Charles finally does return to England and take the throne, Barbara is right at his side as his treasured mistress. The novel then follows Barbara's days as the mistress of the King of England, her dealings with Charles's jealous queen and wife, Catherine of Braganza, her powerful influence and friends, the various children she had by the king, and even her dealings with other women that entered Charles's life most notably Frances Stuart, a beautiful virgin maid-of-honor who captivated Charles. Eventually Charles and Barbara go their separate ways with him taking other mistresses and Barbara having rendezvous with men such as the actor Charles Hart and a young and dashing John Churchill, but the affection and desire between King Charles and Barbara never truly disappears until Barbara knowing her days as the true favorite are over walks out of the King of England's life. This novel is a true tribute to the life of Barbara, Countess of Castlemaine, Duchess of Cleveland, and favorite of King Charles II. It shows her at her worst such as purposely antagonizing Queen Catherine or scheming to embarrass Frances Stuart and shows her at her best such as helping a little girl who got hurt, her love for her children, and her love and care of Charles himself. This is full portrait of a fascinating and complicated woman.
Scott gives a view of Barbara that is well-rounded. Scott does not portray Barbara as a saint, but as a woman with good traits, but also true flaws. Barbara is not an evil sexual villainess under Scott's pen, but a human being. Scott flawlessly portrays the beauty of Charles and Barbara's relationship, the beginning, the middle, the end, and the ups and downs between the king and his favorite. She also presents a well-researched portrayal of the court of King Charles and the time period featuring the religious conflict and political turmoil.
The only wish is that Scott would have portrayed more of Barbara's interactions with the other two major mistresses in King Charles's life, the saucy actress Nell Gwyn and the elegant Louise de Kerouaille. You can only imagine the amusing scenes between Barbara, Nell, and Louise with Barbara and Nell trading barbs and Louise with her nose in the air or weeping. Oh what amusement!
Scott proves once again that she is the best novelist on the court of King Charles II and the many women that were part of his life. In "Royal Harlot" she gives readers a story of a fascinating woman, the portrayal of a deep relationship between a king and his mistress, tons of lusty material, and a history lesson on the time period. What more could you want in a novel?
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