Restoration
“Merivel embodies the contradictions of his era: though he is vain, frivolous, and cynical, he is also a man of sensibility, intelligence, and imaginative daring; his wry, witty voice holds the reader absorbed. A thoroughly satisfying read, the complex plot is augmented by acutely observed historical detail, nuanced character development, humor, and poignancy.”
Publishers Weekly
From Rose Tremain comes the Booker Prize short-listed novel that "restored the historical novel to its rightful place of honor" (New York Times).
Robert Merivel, son of a glove maker and an aspiring physician, finds his fortunes transformed when he is given a position at the court of King Charles II. Merivel slips easily into a life of luxury and idleness, enthusiastically enjoying the women and wine of the vibrant Restoration age. But when he's called on to serve the king in an unusual role, he transgresses the one law he is forbidden to break and is brutally cast out from his newfound paradise. Thus begins Merivel's journey to self-knowledge, which will take him down into the lowest depths of seventeenth-century society.
Praise