Mistress Nell Gwyn
Author: Marjorie Bowen
Publisher: T. Allen
Published: 1926
Total Pages: 266
ISBN-13:
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Nell Gwyn
Author: Charles Beauclerk
Publisher:
Published: 2005
Total Pages: 432
ISBN-13: 9780333904718
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Beautiful, quick-witted, good humoured and sexually magnetic, Nell Gwyn remains one of England's great folk-heroines. The story of her exceptional rise from an impoverished childhood (she was the fatherless daughter of an alcoholic bawd) to the wealth and connections that came with being the lover of one history's most louche kings, is a highly charged mix of lust, money, high politics and love.Possibly a child prostitute, 'pretty Nelly', as Samuel Pepys called her in his diary, was famously spotted selling oranges in the first Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. She took to the stage and became the most successful comedienne of her day with parts written for her by the great dramatists of the age. It was while she was performing that she caught the eye of Charles II, the newly restored, pleasure-seeking, 'merry monarch' of a nation in full hedonistic reaction to puritan rule.
Nell Gwyn
Author: Derek Parker
Publisher: Sutton Publishing
Published: 2001
Total Pages: 220
ISBN-13: 9780750927048
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Nell Gwyn Entertains the reader with the story of the actress nell Gwyn, daughter of a brothel keeper who became Charles II's favorite mistress.
The First Actresses
Author: Gillian Perry
Publisher:
Published: 2011
Total Pages: 0
ISBN-13: 9781855144118
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Featuring a range of large-scale, public and more intimate portraits of actresses, The First Actresses provides a vivid spectacle of femininity, fashion and theatricality from Nell Gwyn to Sarah Siddons. Ranging from oil paint to porcelain, these portraits illustrate the enduring popularity of portraits of women performers. Crucially the book seeks to reassess the traditional association between actress and'prostitute', and the moral ambiguity of women playing male roles. Portraiture became an important vehicle for the expression of concerns about female sexuality, social status, decorum, gender and celebrity. The authors also chart the commercialisation of the spectacle of the actress, as well as the connections between the eighteenth-century 'star system' and modern celebrity culture. Organised thematically, sections include: 'Painting Acresses' Lives', 'Nell Gwyn and Covent Garden Goddesses', 'Divas, Dancing and the Rage for Music: Painting Women in Musical Performance', 'Beauty, Ageing and the Body Politic of the Eighteenth-Century Actress' and 'Star Systems'. Illustrated with remarkable paintings by major artists of the period, a fascinating and lucid text reveals the many ways in which women performers enabled artistic innovation and creativity, provoked intellectual debate and contributed to the popularity and visibility of the theatre. Accompanies an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, London, 20 October 2011 - 8 January 2012
Charles II's Favourite Mistress
Author: Sarah-Beth Watkins
Publisher: Pen and Sword History
Published: 2021-10-30
Total Pages: 244
ISBN-13: 1399000578
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Nell Gwyn, the most infamous mistress of Charles II, was a commoner raised from the dingy back alleys of London to the stage and into a king’s arms. Hers was a true rags to riches story that saw a young girl rise from selling oranges to capturing the heart of a king. The Restoration period was one of change. After the troubled years of the English Civil War, it was time for pleasure, debauchery and entertainment with the ‘Merry Monarch’ restored to the throne. Nell was one of the first actresses on stage; a loveable comedienne who wowed audiences with her wit and charm. She fell in love with Charles Hart (one of the leading actors of the time), had a torrid affair with Lord Buckhurst and ultimately ended up in the king’s bed. She stayed on the stage for six years, but she stayed in the king’s heart for seventeen – his only mistress who was faithful to him. Set against the backdrop of Restoration London, this book charts Nell’s life and that of her family and friends – from her drunken mother and troublesome sister to the most notorious wits of the age John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester and George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham. Nell had a generous heart and a mischievous spirit, and was friends with people from all walks of life. The only woman she really detested was another of the king’s mistresses, Louise de Kerouaille, known as the French Spy. This highly entertaining book will tell the story of Nell’s life – the good and the bad – and show why Nell truly embodies the spirit of the Restoration.
The King's Favorite
Author: Susan Holloway Scott
Publisher: Penguin
Published: 2008-07-01
Total Pages: 452
ISBN-13: 9780451224064
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →The acclaimed author of Duchess and Royal Harlot returns with the unforgettable story of a king's last love and London's darling? BRNell Gwyn has never been a lady, nor does she pretend to be. Blessed with impudent wit and saucy beauty, she swiftly rises from the poverty of Covent Garden to become a sensation in the theater. Still in her teens, she catches the eye of King Charles II, and trades the stage for Whitehall Palace-and the role of royal mistress. Even though she delights the king, she must learn to negotiate the cutthroat royal court, where ambition and lust for power rule the hearts of all around her. For beneath her charm and light-heartedness, Nell has her own ambition-to become no less than the king's favorite.
Nell Gwyn
Nell Gwynn
Author: Jessica Swale
Publisher:
Published: 2016
Total Pages: 0
ISBN-13: 9781848425590
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →London, 1660. King Charles II has exploded onto the scene with a love of all things loud, extravagant and sexy. And at Drury Lane, a young Nell Gwynn is causing stirrings amongst the theatregoers. Nell Gwynn charts the rise of an unlikely heroine, from her roots in Coal Yard Alley to her success as Britain's most celebrated actress, and her hard-won place in the heart of the King. But at a time when women are second-class citizens, can her charm and spirit protect her from the dangers of the Court? Jessica Swale's exhilarating take on the heady world of Restoration theatre premiered at Shakespeare's Globe, London, in September 2015, before transferring to the West End in February 2016, starring Gemma Arterton. It won the Olivier Award for Best New Comedy in 2016.
The Story of Nell Gwyn
The Protestant Whore
Author: Alison Margaret Conway
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Published: 2010-01-01
Total Pages: 313
ISBN-13: 1442641371
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →After the restoration of the English monarchy in 1660, Protestants worried that King Charles II might favour religious freedom for Roman Catholics, and many suspected that the king was unduly influenced by his Catholic mistresses. Nell Gwyn, actress and royal mistress, stood apart by virtue of her Protestant loyalty. In 1681, Gwyn, her carriage surrounded by an angry anti-Catholic mob, famously declared 'I am the protestant whore.' Her self-branding invites an investigation into the alignment between sex and politics during this period, and in this study, Alison Conway relates courtesan narrative to cultural and religious anxieties. In new readings of canonical works by Aphra Behn, Daniel Defoe, Henry Fielding, and Samuel Richardson, Conway argues that authors engaged the same questions about identity, nation, authority, literature, and politics as those pursued by Restoration polemicists. Her study reveals the recurring connection between sexual impropriety and religious heterodoxy in Restoration thought, and Nell Gwyn, writ large as the nation's Protestant Whore, is shown to be a significant figure of sexual, political, and religious controversy.
