England 1600's. Men were cads and rogues. ( )

Ousted from her family by her new stepmother, Eliza Rose makes her way to London—only to be thrown straight into prison for stealing a bite to eat. Her life takes a remarkable twist when she is rescued and befriended by the infamous actress Nelly Gwyn. Nelly introduces her to the courtly intrigue, politics, and glamour of the court of King Charles II, as well as to a handsome young man known as Valentine Howard. Eliza is smitten, yet their love cannot be, as she is only a lowly maid and he is an aristocrat.
From orange seller to mermaid and to a lady about town, Eliza will take on many remarkable guises, but will she ever find what she yearns to know—a place where she truly belongs?

My Thoughts: May Contain Spoilers.

Eliza Rose we first meet being thrown into the ‘Clink’ for stealing a pastry. Form then one she always seems to be in the need of rescuing. All her encounters are with real historical figures although Eliza herslef is a fictional character but based on a young girl of the times. Ma Gwyn helps her out to her own advantage, then along comes Nell, Claude Duval, the famous highwayman and also King Charles II. Will Eliza end up with a happy ending ?

This book is for young adults unknown to me when I picked it up, firstly for its cover and the blurb on the back. That dosen’t matter too much, but had I have been about 15/16 years of age then this book would have been the perfect fairytale. The book was very quick to read and had it’s sugary ending where all ends well. I enjoyed the historical characters and would have loved to have seen Eliza spend a little more time with the highwayman. I was looling forward to reading about Nell Gwyn but feel the same as another reviewer on here that perhaps there are better books out there about her.

A quick pleasant read but I would have loved it more had I have been a teenager. ( )

When her stepmother kicks teenaged Eliza Rose out of the house, Eliza travels to London to find her father, who is helping to rebuild the city after the Great Fire. But unworldly Eliza soon finds herself locked in the city's notorious Clink Prison, struggling to survive until she is taken under the wing of first Ma Gwynn and then her daughter - pretty, witty Nell.

I really enjoyed the setting of Restoration England, and I just adore Nell Gwynn. The story came at the perfect moment for me as I saw Nell's portrait at the National Portrait Gallery in London and was living about a block away from one of the (several) reputed birthplaces of Nell. But the writing and the story are a bit bumpy. Too simple for an older teen and a bit bawdy (after all there are a lot of prostitutes hanging around) for the younger set.

But all of that wouldn't have troubled me except for the very Pudd'nhead Wilson like switched identity story. The highborn behave nobly despite their circumstances and the lowborn are vulgar and cruel regardless of their upbringing. That seemed far too fairy-tale and not nearly real enough to have its place in a historical novel. The truth was revealed much too slowly - I had already guessed pages ago.

But although the heroine struck me as a goody-twoshoes and her love interest quite insipid, I did enjoy the setting, the historical characters, and the period detail (highwaymen, the theater, the garden parties). It's certainly worth a read to spend time with Nell - but this probably isn't the place to first meet the characters.

Also posted on my blog. ( )

During the reign of King Charles II, a young girl gets kicked out of her family home by her stepmother, travels to London where she is thrown in jail. She is released from prison to find herself living among bawds and loose women; she then is befriended by the actress Nelly Gwynn, who later becomes the king's most famous mistress.

Things I liked:
I'm a sucker for historical fiction, especially related to royalty. A YA book that follows a fictional character around the demimonde of Charles II's court seemed like a fun bet. There's much that was fun: frothy costumes, romance, dashing highwaymen, a strong female protagonist...

Things I didn't like:
The plot was a riotous combination of Victorian melodrama (a poor young girl whose only dream is for familial love!) and a Harlequin(TM) romance (smutty plot, smutty characters, little-lamb-pure heroine). Despite her rather drastic circumstances, her chastity is vigorously maintained, so that we're never in doubt about her moral character (and how could she land a well-born man if she had lost her honor?).

It's a fluffy read, especially for those who like costume dramas. The writing is pretty simplistic for older teens, but the subject matter is pretty racy for younger ones. ( )

From the author of Sign of the Sugared Plum, this story takes place as London is rebuilt after the Great Fire. Eliza wakes up in jail where she befriends Elinor who is transported to US, then she is freed by the immoral Ma Gwyn who runs a brothel but parades E as a mermaid in the Fair. She is then rescued by Ma’s daughter Nell the actress who finds favour with the King and this means wealth & stability. But E is shocked to discover that those she thought her mother & father are not – who are her kin? The king’s astrologer tells her she is highly born – is it true or is it another person taking advantage of her?