I'm usually a fan of historical fiction, especially novels about Charles II. However, I couldn't get into this book--or rather, three books rolled into one.
Originally published in 1956 and 1957, these three novels focus on the relationships Charles II had with his sister, Henriette; his wife, Catherine of Braganza; and his mistresses, Barbara Palmer, Countess of Castlemaine, Louise de Keroualle, and Nell Gwynne. Although the books are well-researched, the characters have no depth or believability. Even Charles, who was actually a pretty charismatic guy, comes off as a cardboard cut-out. The novels read like historical nonfiction in some places. The relationship between Henriette and her husband's boyfriend Lorraine is never fully explored, when it was suspected (at the time) that he poisoned her. The language of the novels seems stilted, in a way, with a very conservative, 1950s view on sex, a major part of Court life during Charles's reign. Another thing I didn't like (and this may be because these books were intended to be completely separate) was that they would rehash old material--for example, Charles's return to London and his coronation were described several times, in context with his relationships with the women in the novel.
I agree with other reviewers, who say that there were many typos; it looks as though they just copied the older editions for this reprint and didn't make the necessary changes.