The Perfect Royal Mistress by Diane Haegen is a novel of the life of Nell Gwyn, Charles IIs favorite mistress. It takes Nelly from her orange girl days through the death of the king. While the apocryphal tale about Nelly's carriage being accosted by the anti-Catholics thinking she was Louise de Kerouaille where she yelled, "I am the PROTESTANT whore!" was omitted, it does include the one where, in her quest to get titles for her two sons by Charles, at a Court gathering she summoned her eldest son to her side by calling out, "Charles, you little bastard. get over here!" & when asked by the king why she would do that, she replied, "I have no other title by which to call him". |