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Charles II #1
The Wandering Prince
It is 1651 and Charles II, the most fascinating of England's rakes, is in exile. With him are his younger sister Minette and his buxom mistress Lucy Water and together they traverse the political and romantic minefield of the French courts.
Minette soon falls passionately in love with Louis, the young Sun King. Yet her affections are not returned and heartbroken she must mollify herself with a marriage to his secretly gay brother, Phillippe. But at what cost?
These years are given Plaidy's wonderful technicolour treatment as an enthralling story of love and intigue unfolds.
318 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1956
15 people are currently reading
660 people want to read
About the author
Jean Plaidy
194 books1,603 followersEleanor Alice Burford, Mrs. George Percival Hibbert was a British author of about 200 historical novels, most of them under the pen name Jean Plaidy which had sold 14 million copies by the time of her death. She chose to use various names because of the differences in subject matter between her books; the best-known, apart from Plaidy, are Victoria Holt (56 million) and Philippa Carr (3 million). Lesser known were the novels Hibbert published under her maiden name Eleanor Burford, or the pseudonyms of Elbur Ford, Kathleen Kellow and Ellalice Tate. Many of her readers under one penname never suspected her other identities.
-Wikipedia
-Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
March 25, 2015
I'm wondering if Plaidy chose this title or if her publishers thought Charles II would be more appealing to the readers than a book about his times. Either way this is not one of Plaidy's stronger novels. There were too many POV characters & Minette, Lucy & even Louis the XIV play more of a part in this book than Charles does.
I did like the way Plaidy captured Charles's charm in his rare appearances in his book. & Plaidy is reasonably non judgemental about Lucy & her choices. She may not have been the brightest bulb, but I liked Lucy with her pursuit of pleasure & lack of guile.
Minette's baby talk as a young child was quite painful to read. It is hard to convey a young child's speech & Plaidy quite definitely fails on this. & the book overall did contain a lot of trite dialogue, especially in the middle parts.
When the book truly becomes Minette's story it definitely improves. I have read her Wikipedia entry & it looks like Plaidy has made her more "pure" than she was in real life - & Philip less vicious. She was still an intelligent & cultured woman & I really want to read more about her.
I did like the way Plaidy captured Charles's charm in his rare appearances in his book. & Plaidy is reasonably non judgemental about Lucy & her choices. She may not have been the brightest bulb, but I liked Lucy with her pursuit of pleasure & lack of guile.
Minette's baby talk as a young child was quite painful to read. It is hard to convey a young child's speech & Plaidy quite definitely fails on this. & the book overall did contain a lot of trite dialogue, especially in the middle parts.
When the book truly becomes Minette's story it definitely improves. I have read her Wikipedia entry & it looks like Plaidy has made her more "pure" than she was in real life - & Philip less vicious. She was still an intelligent & cultured woman & I really want to read more about her.
December 22, 2020
Enjoyed the story of Charles II before (and in the early days of) the Restoration. The story was more focused however on his youngest sister Minette (later Duchesse d'Orleans) and I think that this trilogy, if I remember correctly, is about Charles shown through the eyes of the women that loved him. Annoyingly a lot of these books have been given 'updated' titles, so it's kind of hard to remember which is which! (This book seems to be available as a 3-in-1 called The Loves of Charles II)
February 15, 2022
Mainly told from the point of view of Charles II sister "Minette" and some from his first major mistress Lucy. Not a lot of deep character development and it helps to know the period before reading this or you will have a hard time following what is going on.
Not sure I would recommend but is a decent semi-brainless read for in the car while waiting for child's activities to end. But I don't thin Plaidy is a very good writer.
Not sure I would recommend but is a decent semi-brainless read for in the car while waiting for child's activities to end. But I don't thin Plaidy is a very good writer.
February 5, 2021
“The Wandering Prince” refers to Charles II of England, though the novel’s main focus is on his sister Henrietta, who’s more commonly known by the French version of her name: Henriette.
Most of the story takes place in France where Louis XIV is king. The narrative covers much of Henriette’s life through to her untimely demise.
The opening pages feature Henriette as a small child disguised as a boy with a small group trying to escape England for France. For me, this is the best part of the book. Sadly, when the story moves on from this scenario, my interest wavered for the rest of the novel.
Too much “telling”, not “showing”, is the biggest problem. Don’t explain what characters are like; show it via action and dialogue.
The narrative is slow moving, partly because of the lack of action, and partly because of the consistent use of the passive voice. It’s dry information that we get, rather than a lively story. The author uses a lot of reported speech, which she would’ve been better off changing to dialogue to bring the characters to life, rather than explain what they said.
Like with all Plaidy novels, certain info or themes are over-repeated. In this case, Charles and Henriette's unconditional love for each other is brought up again and again. it’s not so bad when the characters express this love for one another via dialogue, but when the third-person narrator keeps telling us that Henritte loves nobody more than Charles, and vice versa, it becomes boring and annoying. A talented author would find ways to *show* this mutual love without constantly having to *tell* the reader about it.
I liked the characterisations of Charles and Henriette but wasn’t as impressed with the author’s portrayal of Louis XIV. Having read a lot about Louis, the depiction of him here doesn’t fit with the image I’ve built up about him. I could be wrong, of course, but this is how it felt to me.
This had potential to be an exciting novel, but for reasons noted already, I only found it to be mildly interesting.
Something about Jean Plaidy’s books keep me coming back for more. Perhaps it’s her obvious love for English and French history, which I share, that draws me back. I wish she’d focused less on turning out as greater quantity of novels as possible and concentrated more on quality writing. A novel like this one should be revised about 20 times, yet this feels like a fifth draft at best.
Most of the story takes place in France where Louis XIV is king. The narrative covers much of Henriette’s life through to her untimely demise.
The opening pages feature Henriette as a small child disguised as a boy with a small group trying to escape England for France. For me, this is the best part of the book. Sadly, when the story moves on from this scenario, my interest wavered for the rest of the novel.
Too much “telling”, not “showing”, is the biggest problem. Don’t explain what characters are like; show it via action and dialogue.
The narrative is slow moving, partly because of the lack of action, and partly because of the consistent use of the passive voice. It’s dry information that we get, rather than a lively story. The author uses a lot of reported speech, which she would’ve been better off changing to dialogue to bring the characters to life, rather than explain what they said.
Like with all Plaidy novels, certain info or themes are over-repeated. In this case, Charles and Henriette's unconditional love for each other is brought up again and again. it’s not so bad when the characters express this love for one another via dialogue, but when the third-person narrator keeps telling us that Henritte loves nobody more than Charles, and vice versa, it becomes boring and annoying. A talented author would find ways to *show* this mutual love without constantly having to *tell* the reader about it.
I liked the characterisations of Charles and Henriette but wasn’t as impressed with the author’s portrayal of Louis XIV. Having read a lot about Louis, the depiction of him here doesn’t fit with the image I’ve built up about him. I could be wrong, of course, but this is how it felt to me.
This had potential to be an exciting novel, but for reasons noted already, I only found it to be mildly interesting.
Something about Jean Plaidy’s books keep me coming back for more. Perhaps it’s her obvious love for English and French history, which I share, that draws me back. I wish she’d focused less on turning out as greater quantity of novels as possible and concentrated more on quality writing. A novel like this one should be revised about 20 times, yet this feels like a fifth draft at best.
September 17, 2018
Not one of my favorite's by Plaidy. The blub on the back made the book seem like it was about Charles II. However, he had a small part in the book. It was more about his sister Henriette, and his lover, Lucy. Only two stars because I think the book should have been a little better describing what it was really about.
March 28, 2022
Another great read from Jean Plaidy.
Charles II is The Wandering Prince, in exile due to Oliver Cromwell having taken over. Mostly in exile in France Charles is a pleasure seeking man who eventually gains back his Crown. I felt the more interesting character was his sister Henrietta.
Charles II is The Wandering Prince, in exile due to Oliver Cromwell having taken over. Mostly in exile in France Charles is a pleasure seeking man who eventually gains back his Crown. I felt the more interesting character was his sister Henrietta.
June 16, 2017
I thought that this would be about Charles II, but it was more about his younger sister Henrietta and her relationship with him.
January 10, 2021
Worth a read. Enjoyed the characters and plot greatly
February 19, 2024
Enjoyable, and a lot better written that I thought it would be. It's a period of history that I'm less familiar with, which is nice.
November 18, 2024
Tedious, confusing. It definitely gave me no faith in royalty or politics in any age!
Know the author was quite popular, but it left me pretty cold.
Know the author was quite popular, but it left me pretty cold.
August 15, 2025
One of the harder Plaidy novels to get through
March 16, 2015
The Stuart family is run out of England when Cromwell turns the country into a Commonwealth. Charles II is a prince wandering around to different courts while he makes attempts to return to the throne. His mom and youngest sister Henriette (Minette to her brother) are in the French court. The other family members are either imprisoned in England or at court in other areas.
Though this is the first book in the Charles II, it is really about two woman rather than Charles himself. The first woman is his sister Minette. She starts as a child and blossoms into a woman, falling in love with Louis XIV. Louis doesn't find out he loves her back until it's too late and he's already been married. The second is Lucy Waters (though a quick Google search has her name as Lucy Walters so I'm not sure why her name was incorrect in the book). Lucy is described as the most beautiful woman in England and Charles falls in love with her quickly. He can't marry her but that doesn't stop a love affair from happening.
I found this book quite dense and a slow read, though it was still very interesting. Most of my historical fiction reading on the British monarchy is in the Tudor era. I didn't know much of either Charles II or Louis XIV and even though this book didn't focus on those two characters, learning about those around them during the time does a lot to shed light on those royals.
Minette was the most interesting character in this book. She went through a transformation from shy, skinny child to beautiful, joyous lady. It seems like she brought many kinds of art to the French court. A whole book could be written on her.
This book isn't as salacious as Philippa Gregory but it is still a great story of fascinating historical figures.
Though this is the first book in the Charles II, it is really about two woman rather than Charles himself. The first woman is his sister Minette. She starts as a child and blossoms into a woman, falling in love with Louis XIV. Louis doesn't find out he loves her back until it's too late and he's already been married. The second is Lucy Waters (though a quick Google search has her name as Lucy Walters so I'm not sure why her name was incorrect in the book). Lucy is described as the most beautiful woman in England and Charles falls in love with her quickly. He can't marry her but that doesn't stop a love affair from happening.
I found this book quite dense and a slow read, though it was still very interesting. Most of my historical fiction reading on the British monarchy is in the Tudor era. I didn't know much of either Charles II or Louis XIV and even though this book didn't focus on those two characters, learning about those around them during the time does a lot to shed light on those royals.
Minette was the most interesting character in this book. She went through a transformation from shy, skinny child to beautiful, joyous lady. It seems like she brought many kinds of art to the French court. A whole book could be written on her.
This book isn't as salacious as Philippa Gregory but it is still a great story of fascinating historical figures.
January 23, 2010
The Wandering Prince is the first book in The Loves of Charles II saga by Jean Plaidy. It is about his relationships with Lucy Water, his first important mistress and the mother of his son James, Duke of Monmouth, and his sister, Henriette.
I really felt like the majority of the book was about Minette, but as her story was the most interesting to me, I really enjoyed that.
The portrayal of Minette's marriage to the Duc de Orleans was a bit more favorable than I've previously read. I don't know whether to think one author made it better than it was, or another author made it worse. Still, I prefer to think Minette was less abused, rather than more.
I liked Lucy Water, too, though she was quite a faithless tramp. It was nice to see the interaction between Charles and Jemmy as a child, also.
I really felt like the majority of the book was about Minette, but as her story was the most interesting to me, I really enjoyed that.
The portrayal of Minette's marriage to the Duc de Orleans was a bit more favorable than I've previously read. I don't know whether to think one author made it better than it was, or another author made it worse. Still, I prefer to think Minette was less abused, rather than more.
I liked Lucy Water, too, though she was quite a faithless tramp. It was nice to see the interaction between Charles and Jemmy as a child, also.
April 10, 2015
Hmmmm.... Told about Charles 2 of England (before he is crowned king), his beloved baby sister Henrietta, his Catholic, unforgiving and manipulative mother Henrietta Maria and the French King Louis and his brother Philippe. The first part of the novel was quite familiar - backstabbing and plotting, royals in exile, a dashingly handsome and appealing young prince with lovers all over the place, including a well-meaning mistress who bears his son. The second half, though, seemed in a hurry to be finished, and the style and purpose of the writing seemed to change. Not as enjoyable as historical royal fiction usually is for me.
August 25, 2018
This was, in my humble opinion, an exceptional read. I truly loved this book. I was a little put off when I saw that it was written in 1956 (even before this old lady was born!), but it was so good I could hardly put it down. Characters came to life and just the perfect amount of dialogue vs. description. Can't wait to start reading Book 2!
Read this book again because it is part of the Stuart Saga which I am now reading. Loved it just as much!
Read this book again because it is part of the Stuart Saga which I am now reading. Loved it just as much!
June 22, 2020
This takes place after what is essentially the end of the Third English Civil War and the beheading of King Charles I, leaving Cromwell as head of the country and Prince Charles as an exile in Holland; his mother Henrietta Maria back home in France with his youngest sister Henriette-Anne at the court of her nephew the young Louis XIV.
December 9, 2009
Early years of Charles II of England as he wandered Europe; focused on his mistress Lucy Waters and his sister Henriette. The first part of the book was rather dull, but as Henriette grew up and the book turned to her relationship with Louis XIV of France, it got much more interesting.
December 15, 2011
Pretty good.
January 25, 2015
wandering prince is a misnomer as this book is really about Minette, Charles II, s youngest sister whose story is both interesting and fascinating
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews