Imprint
- Abacus
- Little, Brown
Prose: non-fiction, Early modern history: c 1450/1500 to c 1700
A fast-paced and thrilling history of Charles II's dissolute life and surprising legacy, from the acclaimed authors of The King's Revenge.
To refer to the private life of Charles II is to abuse the adjective. His personal life was anything but private. His amorous liaisons were largely conducted in royal palaces surrounded by friends, courtiers and literally hundreds of servants and soldiers. Gossip radiated throughout the kingdom.
Charles spent most of his wealth and his intellect on gaining and keeping the company of women, from the lowest sections of society such as the actress Nell Gwyn to the aristocratic Louise de Kerouaille. Some of Charles' women played their part in the affairs of state, colouring the way the nation was run.
Don Jordan and Michael Walsh take us inside Charles' palace, where we will meet court favourites, amusing confidants, advisors jockeying for political power, mistresses past and present as well as key figures in his inner circle such as his 'pimpmasters' and his personal pox doctor.
The astonishing private life of Charles II reveals much about the man he was and why he lived and ruled as he did. THE KING'S BED tells the compelling story of a king ruled by his passion.
More books by Don Jordan
Praise for The King's Bed: Sex, Power and the Court of Charles II
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Praise for The King's Revenge: Jordan and Walsh provide a thoroughly entertaining account of these extraordinary events . . . a vivid and consuming piece of historical narrative - Sunday Times
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Praise for The King's Revenge: A fast-paced, lively work - BBC History Magazine
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Praise for The King's Revenge: In this beautifully detailed and seamlessly written book Jordan and Walsh shine a new light on Charles II . . . their energetic and masterful account makes for a Restoration romp worth reading - Sunday Express
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Praise for The King's Revenge: This is a terrific read - Spectator
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Entertaining history of the antics of the libidinous King Charles II and his licentious court . . . tells you everything you need to know about 17th-Century sex - Tatler
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The King's Bed violates all the po-faced standards of serious scholarship, but that's precisely what makes it so enjoyable - The Times
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Don Jordan and Michael Walsh share an unerring nose for a good subject . . . These romps through Charles's bed-chamber are wonderfully lively . . . Narrating a libertine's life with a gusto tempered by sound common sense, they have produced a book that is as pleasantly addictive as might be suggested by its racy title - Sunday Times
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In a tone of breezy bravado in keeping with their concept of their subject's character, Don Jordan and Michael Walsh have written a swashbuckling life of Charles II . . . the stuff of a TV mini-series . . . the authors have a keen eye for memorable anecdotes which consistently hold the reader's attention - Spectator
Don Jordan
Don Jordan is a writer and film maker, most recently known for a series of history books co-written with Michael Walsh. Among them are White Cargo, acclaimed by Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison as 'an extraordinary book', The King's Revenge and The King's Bed, the latter two published by Little, Brown.
Jordan's work has won several awards, including two Blue Ribbons at the New York Film and Television Festival. He is the co-writer and co-producer of the multi-award winning feature film Love is the Devil, based on the life of the painter Francis Bacon, staring Derek Jacobi and Daniel Craig.
Born in Northern Ireland, Don has lived in England for more than thirty years, most of that time in London, and is married to Eithne, a hospital doctor.
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