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Read The Merry Monarch's Wife (2008)

The Merry Monarch's Wife (2008)

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Rating
3.79 of 5 Votes: 3
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ISBN
030734617X (ISBN13: 9780307346179)
Language
English
Publisher
broadway books

The Merry Monarch's Wife (2008) - Plot & Excerpts

This was my second Jean Plaidy book and I must say it was a good one.Catherine of Braganza was a sweet natured girl who dreamed all her life that she will marry King Charles II and she will live happily ever after.At 24 she goes to England and she is marrried to King Charles.At first everything seems as she wanted it to be but she soon discovers that Charles might be charming smart and loving but she must share her spot with several mistress.Her life it is not easy ,she is not popular with the people who want a Protestant Queen not a Catholic one like Catherine.But Charles loves her and doesn't want to divorce her.I love that the story it is told from Catherine point of view.This way you connect with the character and share her happiness or her sorrow.I also loved the fact that Plaidy did her research extremely good.I learned a lot about historical events and about people.Charles is described very good and you grow very fond of him even if sometimes he is a jerk.His lovers get a lot of attention,starting with Lady Castlemain a selfish 17 century diva,sweet and naive Frances Stuart(I also grow fond of her),annoying actress Nell and Louise de Keroualle a Catholic french spy.Everything was very well researched and well placed in the story.Catherine is the main point of the story and the way she evolves through her time as Queen after as Queen Dowager and then Regent of Portugal.The reason why I gave this book 4 stars and not 5 is because there were 2 or 3 chapters which were quite dull and boring.It was like a dull history lesson ,narrated by Catherine without her being involved in the story.The chapter "Titus Oates" was pointless and I am wondering why did the writer put it in this book.Captain Blood story was annoying and I am glad that it spend only one chapter and that one was shared with good characters like James and Anne.Also some characters were written off the story without even being mentioned.For example Donna Maria a reccurning character in the first half of the book was nowhere to be found in the second half.By the end of the book it is said that she died but this is not mentioned by the time of her death which is annoying!But I must mention that I loved the way Catherine remembered her old friends or her death husband.They were important for her and by remembering them the story gets a more realistic air.Once again I really loved Catherine for her kindness.All in all this book was amazing,I was connected with Catherine and at the end I was happy with the decision she made and I also felt nostalgic.I recommend this book for fans of historical fiction and for the one who want to learn about Catherine Of Braganza and Charles II.The book also provided a preview of another book by Plaidy ,The Queen Devotion which is about Mary II.She was a character in this book,important in the end of the story.The character intrigued me and it was nice to find out that there is a book about her.

I enjoyed reading Jean Plaidy's The Merry Monarch's Wife. Catherine of Braganza was the queen of Charles II. For those familiar with the reign of Charles II, you can imagine what a life she led for better or worse. The book seeks to capture her personal perspective of her husband, of her marriage, of her adopted country. (She's coming from Portugal to England.)Plaidy's depiction has Catherine truly in love with the King, and oh-so-aware of his shortcomings. In her reckoning, Charles II could not help himself at all, he was completely incapable of fidelity. Readers catch glimpses here and there of Charles' many, many mistresses. But not as much as you might imagine. That is, the focus is on HER and not truly on him and his activities. She is aware of his favorites at any given time, and at times she's sought out in conversation by mistresses in and out of favor. There is definitely a lot of POLITICS in Merry Monarch's Wife. Readers learn about various plots and threats and conspiracies. Readers meet men and women who are ambitious and manipulative and power-hungry. I was familiar, in a way, with some of the details of his reign. But not of what life was like for her before and after. Before her arrival in England and after Charles II's death. This book tells a fairly complete story.

What do You think about The Merry Monarch's Wife (2008)?

Captain Renault:What in heaven's name brought you to Casablanca?Rick:My health. I came to Casablanca for the waters.Captain Renault:The waters? What waters? We're in the desert.Rick:I was misinformed.This is my first encounter with Jean Plaidy's Queens of England Series. I thought I might be getting Hilary Mantel; I was misinformed. This book dramatizes the life of Catherine of Braganza. She, a good Catholic, married Charles II of England whose good fortune it was to be available at the restoration of the British monarchy after the great Civil War. Charles' father was beheaded in that conflict. Catherine was married to Charles to cement a relationship between England and Portugal and provide some buffer between the warring parties in the Iberian peninsula. Catherine's father got what he wanted in the deal, and was willing to pay a substantial price for it. Aside from the money in the dowry, England got concessions in north Africa and India --- items that led to Britain's later domination of India and other places in Asia. Plaidy, instead, chooses to caste Catherine as a "pawn in the game of life." Everything happens to her. She seems to do nothing, take no initiative on her own.The "Merry Monarch" of the title had romantic involvements both before and during his marriage to Catherine. Perhaps because of his bride's miscarriages and inability to produce an heir, Charles fathered and recognized many out of wedlock progeny. The book takes us on a long journey through Catherine's fidelity to Roman Catholicism. The English people had difficulty warming to her because her religion stood in the way. She was accused at various times of treason and other offenses. Charles, to his credit, was her strong defender. When he died, she stayed in England. It was the Portuguese who, being among the first Western sailors to Asia, brought back tea. It became popular among their nobility. It was Catherine who, as part of her dowry, brought several chests of tea with her to England. She made it fashionable at Court and from there to the general public. Plaidy makes little note of this, and other things less titilating.
—HBalikov

Despite the somewhat dull and placid personality of this Queen of England, Plaidy creates a simple and relatively enjoyable story of her life. Though I found the lives of her enemies - could one call them that? - the mistresses of Charles II such as Nell Gwynne and Lady Castlemaine. Unfortunately they took the show away from Catherine.However, Plaidy is such a talented writer, it is hard to fault the tone she manages to capture of famous people of the time. Not a favourite but that may be because I'm a Tudor kind of girl.
—Danielle

This book is told from the point of view of Charles II's wife Catherine Braganza. It's interesting to compare this book with Plaidy's earlier books about Charles II. Most things are similar, but in this book (which was written considerably after the Charles II trilogy) she has Charles dying willingly as a Catholic as opposed to being forced to it like at the end of the trilogy (which her author's note even discusses). I haven't read any non-fiction about Charles, so I'm not sure what the current thoughts might be on this subject, but it's interesting to see how Plaidy's views changed over the years.
—Sara W

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