by Rose Tremain ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1990
In Tremain's previous novels (The Cupboard, 1982, etc.), doom-hassled protagonists flounder in a colorful clangor of events and, in various ways, find firm ground. Here, Tremain opts for a period setting--England's Restoration era of the 17th century, dominated by the lusty demigod figure of Charles II--to follow the stumbles and headlong forays of a sybarite-turned-saint. Son of a glovemaker, Robert Merivel, halfway through his medical studies, is summoned to cure King Charles' spaniel (miraculously accomplished by doing nothing). Soon, Merivel, with his ""hog bristle hair"" and squashed nose, has become the King's ""Fool,"" and then, to his astonishment, he's given a grand estate, Bidnold, and titled. This is the price of marrying, in name only, the King's youngest mistress, Celia, to keep her secret and apart from the King's other amours. Now drowned in luxury, Merivel works hard at the high life, tries painting and the oboe, indulges in easy sex, but still he's ""erratic, immoderate, greedy, boastful and sad"" by his own account. He would like to be ""a proper man."" But when he is actually drawn to sour Celia, the axe falls, and he's driven from his Eden with the King's reproach: ""Your [medical] skill has fallen away and you are all one foolish mass."" In the cold world, then, Merivel turns to an old dour Quaker friend and becomes part of a noble institution caring for the insane. Here, the newly somber, rational Merivel will try to posit new theories of treatment and later, back in London, will heal, sacrifice, and survive for the inevitable royal reward. Tremain's Charles II is a magical, storybook king--cruel, then dispensing favors like chocolates--and Merivel's turnabout from Fool to proper man is in the same fanciful vein; but, still, this is entertaining, with vigorous period accents. An enticing tale, well told.
Pub Date: April 1, 1990
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: N/A
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1990
Categories: FICTION
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