Listen free for 30 days
-
Mistresses
- Sex and Scandal at the Court of Charles II
- Narrated by: Julie Teal
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Biographies & Memoirs, Politics & Activism
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Listen with a free trial
Buy Now for £11.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Love and Louis XIV
- The Women in the Life of the Sun King
- By: Antonia Fraser
- Narrated by: Julia Franklin
- Length: 14 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Love and Louis XIV centres around the Sun King and his relationships with numerous fascinating women: his mother, Anne of Austria, to whom he was devoted; his first important mistress, Louise de la Valliere, who bore him several illegitimate children; Athenais Marquise de Montespan, who acted as unofficial Queen of Versailles; Madame de Maintenon, governess to the illegitimate royal children; and of course, Marie Therese, his wife.
-
-
Educational
- By Kindle Customer on 15-02-18
-
Ladies in Waiting
- A History of Court Life from the Tudors to the Present Day
- By: Anne Somerset
- Narrated by: Sophie Roberts
- Length: 15 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For centuries, the most beautiful, able and aristocratic women in England competed for positions at court. Some who came to serve were remarkable for their learning and exemplary virtue, but others were notable for promiscuity and lack of scruple, drawn to court by a lust for money and power. Several ladies-in-waiting became royal mistresses, showing few qualms about betraying the queen consorts they ostensibly served.
-
-
Amazing research
- By G Oakley on 15-03-21
-
Catherine de Medici
- A Biography
- By: Leonie Frieda
- Narrated by: Sarah Le Fevre
- Length: 21 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The best-selling revisionist biography of one of the great women of the 16th century. Orphaned in infancy, Catherine de Medici was the sole legitimate heiress to the Medici family fortune. Married at 14 to the future Henri II of France, she was constantly humiliated by his influential mistress, Diane de Poitiers. When her husband died as a result of a duelling accident in Paris, Catherine was made queen regent during the short reign of her eldest son (married to Mary Queen of Scots, and like many of her children he died young). When her second son became king, she was the power behind the throne.
-
-
Fascinating, enjoyable
- By MarkG on 21-04-21
-
The House of Dudley
- A New History of Tudor England
- By: Dr Joanne Paul
- Narrated by: Kristin Atherton
- Length: 17 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Each Tudor monarch made their name with a Dudley by their side - or by crushing one beneath their feet. The Dudleys thrived at the court of Henry VII but were sacrificed to the popularity of Henry VIII. Rising to prominence in the reign of Edward VI, the Dudleys lost it all by advancing Jane Grey to the throne over Mary I. Under Elizabeth I, the family were once again at the centre of power and would do anything to remain there. With three generations of felled favourites, what was it that caused this family to keep rising so high and falling so low?
-
-
Disappointing
- By MRS on 08-05-22
-
The Scandalous Lady W
- By: Hallie Rubenhold
- Narrated by: Emily Pennant-Rea
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It was the divorce that scandalised Georgian England. She was a spirited young heiress. He was a handsome baronet with a promising career in government. Their marriage had the makings of a fairy tale but ended as one of the most salacious and highly publicised divorces in history. For over 200 years the story of Lady Worsley, her vengeful husband, and her lover, George Maurice Bisset, lay forgotten. Now Hallie Rubenhold throws open a window to a rarely seen view of Georgian England, one coloured by passion, adventure and the defiance of social convention.
-
-
Made a fascinating story tedious
- By chan on 26-10-19
-
To Catch a King: Charles II's Great Escape
- By: Charles Spencer
- Narrated by: Richard Trinder
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Guided by its various twists and turns, To Catch a King tells the story the manhunt for Charles II following the rebellion that spurred his father's beheading in 1649. This pause-resisting sequel to Killers of the King tells an old story with new eyes, challenging our polarised notions of royalism, nationalism and loyalty.
-
-
A worthy companion to 'Killers of the King".
- By Tommy on 21-02-18
-
Love and Louis XIV
- The Women in the Life of the Sun King
- By: Antonia Fraser
- Narrated by: Julia Franklin
- Length: 14 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Love and Louis XIV centres around the Sun King and his relationships with numerous fascinating women: his mother, Anne of Austria, to whom he was devoted; his first important mistress, Louise de la Valliere, who bore him several illegitimate children; Athenais Marquise de Montespan, who acted as unofficial Queen of Versailles; Madame de Maintenon, governess to the illegitimate royal children; and of course, Marie Therese, his wife.
-
-
Educational
- By Kindle Customer on 15-02-18
-
Ladies in Waiting
- A History of Court Life from the Tudors to the Present Day
- By: Anne Somerset
- Narrated by: Sophie Roberts
- Length: 15 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For centuries, the most beautiful, able and aristocratic women in England competed for positions at court. Some who came to serve were remarkable for their learning and exemplary virtue, but others were notable for promiscuity and lack of scruple, drawn to court by a lust for money and power. Several ladies-in-waiting became royal mistresses, showing few qualms about betraying the queen consorts they ostensibly served.
-
-
Amazing research
- By G Oakley on 15-03-21
-
Catherine de Medici
- A Biography
- By: Leonie Frieda
- Narrated by: Sarah Le Fevre
- Length: 21 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The best-selling revisionist biography of one of the great women of the 16th century. Orphaned in infancy, Catherine de Medici was the sole legitimate heiress to the Medici family fortune. Married at 14 to the future Henri II of France, she was constantly humiliated by his influential mistress, Diane de Poitiers. When her husband died as a result of a duelling accident in Paris, Catherine was made queen regent during the short reign of her eldest son (married to Mary Queen of Scots, and like many of her children he died young). When her second son became king, she was the power behind the throne.
-
-
Fascinating, enjoyable
- By MarkG on 21-04-21
-
The House of Dudley
- A New History of Tudor England
- By: Dr Joanne Paul
- Narrated by: Kristin Atherton
- Length: 17 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Each Tudor monarch made their name with a Dudley by their side - or by crushing one beneath their feet. The Dudleys thrived at the court of Henry VII but were sacrificed to the popularity of Henry VIII. Rising to prominence in the reign of Edward VI, the Dudleys lost it all by advancing Jane Grey to the throne over Mary I. Under Elizabeth I, the family were once again at the centre of power and would do anything to remain there. With three generations of felled favourites, what was it that caused this family to keep rising so high and falling so low?
-
-
Disappointing
- By MRS on 08-05-22
-
The Scandalous Lady W
- By: Hallie Rubenhold
- Narrated by: Emily Pennant-Rea
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It was the divorce that scandalised Georgian England. She was a spirited young heiress. He was a handsome baronet with a promising career in government. Their marriage had the makings of a fairy tale but ended as one of the most salacious and highly publicised divorces in history. For over 200 years the story of Lady Worsley, her vengeful husband, and her lover, George Maurice Bisset, lay forgotten. Now Hallie Rubenhold throws open a window to a rarely seen view of Georgian England, one coloured by passion, adventure and the defiance of social convention.
-
-
Made a fascinating story tedious
- By chan on 26-10-19
-
To Catch a King: Charles II's Great Escape
- By: Charles Spencer
- Narrated by: Richard Trinder
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Guided by its various twists and turns, To Catch a King tells the story the manhunt for Charles II following the rebellion that spurred his father's beheading in 1649. This pause-resisting sequel to Killers of the King tells an old story with new eyes, challenging our polarised notions of royalism, nationalism and loyalty.
-
-
A worthy companion to 'Killers of the King".
- By Tommy on 21-02-18
-
Heiresses
- By: Laura Thompson
- Narrated by: Laura Thompson
- Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We fantasise about what we would do if we inherited a fortune: the house on Cheyne Walk? The Manolo Blahniks? The racehorses? But what would it be like, never to have to dream in that way? Laura Thompson explores the historical phenomenon of the heiress in four inviting categories.
-
-
Fascinating piece of history!
- By Ali H on 22-10-21
-
Marie Antoinette
- By: Antonia Fraser
- Narrated by: Eleanor Bron
- Length: 20 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Marie Antoinette's dramatic life-story continues to arouse mixed emotions. To many people, she is still 'la reine mechante', whose extravagance and frivolity helped to bring down the French monarchy; her indifference to popular suffering epitomised by the (apocryphal) words: 'let them eat cake'. Others are equally passionate in her defence: to them, she is a victim of misogyny.
-
-
Spectacular.
- By B on 17-12-14
-
Queen Victoria's Cousins
- By: Christina Croft
- Narrated by: Rupert ap Gruffydd
- Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Throughout her lonely and isolated childhood, with only her dogs and dolls for company, Queen Victoria relished the visits of her cousins, many of whom she came to regard as surrogate brothers and sisters. From the newly created Empire of Mexico, to the largely undiscovered African Congo, their influence crossed continents; and their lives, spanning more than a century, were interwoven with some of the most significant events of the age.
-
The Mistresses of Cliveden
- By: Natalie Livingstone
- Narrated by: Carole Boyd
- Length: 15 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From its dawn in the 1660s to its twilight in the 1960s, Cliveden was an emblem of elite misbehaviour and intrigue. Conceived by the Duke of Buckingham as a retreat for his scandalous affair with Anna-Maria, Countess of Shrewsbury, the house later served as the backdrop for the Profumo affair. In the 300 years between, the house was occupied by a dynasty of remarkable women each of whom left their mark on this great house.
-
-
Much More Than A Book About A House
- By Alison on 28-02-17
-
The Tudors in Love
- By: Sarah Gristwood
- Narrated by: Rachel Atkins
- Length: 14 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The dramas of courtly love have captivated centuries of readers and dreamers. Yet too often they’re dismissed as something existing only in books and song - those old legends of King Arthur and chivalric fantasy. Not so. In this groundbreaking history, Sarah Gristwood reveals the way courtly love made and marred the Tudor dynasty.
-
-
A thorough study but nothing new about the Tudors
- By Corsaire on 09-03-22
-
The Covent Garden Ladies
- By: Hallie Rubenhold
- Narrated by: Emily Pennant-Rea, Hallie Rubenhold
- Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
1757 - Harris's List of Covent Garden Ladies, a salacious publication detailing the names and 'specialties' of the capital's prostitutes, eventually became one of the 18th century's most successful literary works as well as an essential accessory for any serious gentleman of pleasure. Beyond its titillating passages lay a glimpse into the sex lives of those who lived and died by the list's profits during the Georgian era. The Covent Garden Ladies tells the story of three unusual characters whose colourful lives were brought together by this publication.
-
-
Too repetitive
- By Mr Chops on 27-10-19
-
Queen Mary
- By: James Pope-Hennessy
- Narrated by: Gareth Armstrong
- Length: 24 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Queen Mary died in 1953, James Pope-Hennessy was commissioned to write an official biography of her - unusual for a Queen Consort. Queen Mary's life, contrary to popular belief, was essentially dramatic, and she played a far more important and influential role in the affairs of the British monarchy than her public image might have otherwise suggested. Using material from the Royal Archives, private papers and Queen Mary's personal diaries and letters, Pope-Hennessy's biography was a remarkable portrait of a remarkable woman and received rave reviews across the press.
-
-
Top Notch - Fascinating and Entertaining
- By Debi J on 18-02-21
-
The Restless Republic
- Britain Without a Crown
- By: Anna Keay
- Narrated by: Lucy Tregear
- Length: 14 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On a raw January afternoon, the Stuart king, Charles I, was executed for treason. Within weeks, the English monarchy had been abolished and the ‘useless and dangerous’ House of Lords discarded. The people, it was announced, were now the sovereign force in the land. What this meant, and where it would lead, no one knew. The Restless Republic is the story of the extraordinary decade that followed.
-
-
very interesting
- By Anonymous User on 12-03-22
-
The Sphinx
- The Life of Gladys Deacon - Duchess of Marlborough
- By: Hugo Vickers
- Narrated by: Hugo Vickers
- Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of the most beautiful and brilliant women of her time, Gladys Deacon dazzled as much as she puzzled the glittering social circles in which she moved. Born in Paris to American parents in 1881, she suffered a traumatic childhood after her father shot her mother's lover dead. Educated in America, she returned to Europe, where she captivated and inspired some of the greatest literary and artistic names of the Belle Époque.
-
-
disappointing with a lifeless narration
- By Lesley-Anne Thompson on 07-06-20
-
The Fatal Passion of Alma Rattenbury
- By: Sean O'Connor
- Narrated by: Elliot Fitzpatrick, Buffy Davis
- Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Adultery, alcoholism, drugs and murder on the suburban streets of Bournemouth. The Rattenbury case of 1935 was one of the great tabloid sensations of the interwar period. The glamorous femme fatale at the heart of the story dominated the front pages for months, somewhere between the rise of Hitler and the launch of the Queen Mary.
-
-
A case never quite closed
- By Rachel Redford on 18-08-19
-
The Strangest Family: The Private Lives of George III, Queen Charlotte and the Hanoverians
- By: Janice Hadlow
- Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
- Length: 27 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An intensely moving account of George III's doomed attempt to create a happy, harmonious family, written with astonishing emotional force from a stunning new history writer. George III came to the throne in 1760 as a man with a mission. He wanted to be a new kind of king, one whose power was rooted in the affection and approval of his people. And he was determined to revolutionise his private life too - to show that a better man would, inevitably, make a better ruler.
-
-
Probably a great book but...
- By Clementi on 04-09-15
-
George V
- Never a Dull Moment
- By: Jane Ridley
- Narrated by: Joanna David
- Length: 22 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The lasting reputation of George V is for dullness. He was a crack shot and an outstanding stamp collector, but that's about it. The flamboyance and hedonism of his father, Edward VII, defined an era whose influence and magnetism is still felt today. The contrast between the two could hardly be greater.
-
-
Tough going..
- By rightlemon on 24-03-22
Summary
According to the great diarist John Evelyn, Charles II was ‘addicted to women’, and throughout his long reign a great many succumbed to his charms. Clever, urbane and handsome, Charles presided over a hedonistic court, in which licence and licentiousness prevailed.
Mistresses is the story of the women who shared Charles’ bed, each of whom wielded influence on both the politics and cultural life of the country. From the young king-in-exile’s first mistress and mother to his first child, Lucy Walter, to the promiscuous and ill-tempered courtier Barbara Villiers. From Frances Teresa Stuart, ‘the prettiest girl in the world’, to history’s most famous orange seller, ‘pretty, witty’ Nell Gwynn, and to her fellow actress, Moll Davis, who bore the last of the king’s 15 illegitimate children. From Louise de Kéroualle, the French aristocrat - and spy for Louis XIV - to the sexually ambiguous Hortense Mancini. Here, too, is the forlorn and humiliated Queen Catherine, the Portuguese princess who was Charles’ childless queen.
Drawing on a wide variety of original sources, including material in private archives, Linda Porter paints a vivid picture of these women and of Restoration England, an era that was both glamorous and sordid.
More from the same
Narrator
What listeners say about Mistresses
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Campesque
- 22-08-20
Restoration naughtiness.
A brief but well written biography of the chief mistresses of Charles II, and his long-suffering wife Catherine of Braganza. Although several of these women, the Queen included, merit deeper study, this book is a great introduction to, and overview of, a court that, it could be argued, instigated the two party political system that still blights our country today.
I found the narration irritating at times. The failure of the narrator to pronounce names and places correctly always irks.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mr MJ
- 18-08-20
Very Interesting
A captivating and detailed book that offers an insight into Charles II's many mistresses. Well researched and featuring mostly core information, the book is a great introduction to the topic. The author is engaging and good for the book, although she sadly mispronounces many (if not most) of the non-English names and locations - but this is a minor detail.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Rachel Redford
- 02-06-20
"Restless he rolls from whore to whore"
Lord Rochester invented the "Merry Monarch" title for Charles II as well as this headline. With his insatiable appetite for women and fine food, it seems fitting, but it doesn't seem very merry to self-dose and finally self-poison with mercury in the vain hope that it will protect you from venereal disease. or to suffer agonies of gout and obesity from vast over-eating which is what the ebullient and genial Charles II did.
Linda Porter's quite brief clearly researched account of the seven most important women in Charles' life rips along at a good pace and is crammed with detail, from the incredibly vast sums of money lavished on these women to the galley slaves who manned the ships carrying dignitaries to England. She also lays out succinctly the political backdrop to these liaisons and the minutiae of the excessively hedonistic court life.
Poor Catherine of Braganzia brought to Charles' court from Portugal to marry the King! Suffering from ghastly sea-sickness, she arrived in England ill and exhausted with no great celebrations to welcome her to the alien land where Charles' long-term mistress Barbara Villiers later made Duchess of Portsmouth, was reigning high. Despite writing effusively to his new mother-in-law about his delight with his new wife, Charles found her completely unappealing whilst Catherine fell in love with him and stayed devoted, despite the pain and suffering his antics with his endless mistresses gave her. She never managed to produce an heir, suffering only miscarriages as Charles' many bastard children prospered. It was only on his death bed in 1685, 25 years after the Restoration, that Charles revealed his sorrow at the way he had treated her.
Charles' mistresses detailed here from the most famous, the raised-in-a-brothel Nell Gwyn to the aristocratic Louise de Keroualle (who held the record at 15 years for her role as maitresse-en-titre) are majestic in their ambition, rivalries and eccentricities. Barbara Villiers had herself painted by Peter Lely with herself as the Madonna and her bastard child as a thumping great baby Jesus.
It's a serious work which carries its authority lightly - a very enjoyable, lively recreation of that extraordinary Court. Julie Teal reads it very well, but I think it's a pity that when she has obviously taken the trouble to pronounce the many French names correctly, she makes errors with English words: mores; forte and scurrilous, the latter many times as it's an obvious adjectives for much of went on!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
- Leonardgodwin
- 07-05-20
No wonder he was merry
Excellent .not just the mistresses but the whole debauched court brought vividly to life and very well narrated by Julie Teal
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ke Donn
- 18-04-20
interesting book
I really enjoyed this well narrated listen. it gives lots of detail about the Mistresses lives before and after their affairs with the king
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mrs M.
- 18-08-21
Very enjoyable
My first read of history of Charles the second, very well researched. Narrator had a nice voice