Merivel: A Man of His Time [Hardcover]

Rose Tremain returns to historical fiction with her latest novel 'Merivel' and to a wonderful character she created for one of her previous novels: Sir Robert Merivel, whom we first met in Restoration; however, it is not essential to have read 'Restoration' to enjoy this latest book. Our hero (or anti-hero), Robert Merivel, is a scoundrel, but he is also a physician and courtier at King Charles II's court. In 'Restoration' we saw Merivel rise from relative obscurity to find favour with King Charles, followed by a fall from grace, and then of his restoration to favour. In this new story, as in the previous book, we see that Merivel is well aware of the fact that if he has prospered in life, it is because he possesses the enviable talent of being able to amuse the King of England.

In 'Merivel' our story begins in 1683; we are moving towards the end of King Charles' reign and Merivel is now a man in late middle age, wondering where the years have gone and what now to do with his life. Although Merivel can see the wisdom in leading a more sober existence in his later years, he is not yet ready to lead the quiet life and is still keen for adventure and escapades. Encouraged by his daughter, Margaret, and with the agreement of the king, Merivel heads off to France where he finds himself at Versailles and the splendour of the court of the Sun King, Louis XIV. Expecting to be marvelled by life at the French court, Merivel is disappointed at the sordidness behind the splendour, and he is dismayed by the gaggle of squabbling fortune hunters surrounding the king. However, there are compensations in the form of a lady botanist, who is an attractive distraction from all that is going on around him and so, of course, we see Merivel setting off in pursuit of another sexual adventure. But there is the small matter of the lady's husband to contend with... And did I mention the big, brown bear that Merivel manages to acquire on his travels?

Rose Tremain has a marvellous eye for detail and she has written an engaging picaresque tale, full of roguish adventures, intrigue, comedy, romance and fleshly delights, but although parts of this story burst with life, it does have its darker moments too. In 'Restoration' Rose Tremain created a wonderfully profligate, yet generous-hearted rogue, with his stockings, knee breeches and flouncy ruffles, and it is good to see him back in the saddle in 'Merivel'; we may not always approve of his actions but we find it difficult to be too hard on the perpetrator of the deed. But is this book as good as 'Restoration'? Well it's a long time since I read 'Restoration', but 'Merivel' is a marvellously entertaining read and I'd say that, although sequels do not generally have the freshness and impact of the original novel, Rose Tremain has created a very worthy successor in 'Merivel' and, in doing so, has provided her readers with some first-rate entertainment.

5 Stars.

Rose Tremain has made fans of her 1989 book "Restoration" wait for a long time before picking up the story of Sir Robert Merivel. Almost as much time has passed in Merivel's world with the book opening in 1683. Leaving a follow up so long can be fraught with danger. For those, like me, who loved "Restoration" at the time, the memory of its central character has grown in fondness over time while some of the detail has been inevitably lost to memory. Thankfully, this is one of those rare things in literature; a very good follow up.

The ideal preparation for this book is probably that you have read "Restoration" but forgotten some of the detail, as Tremain recaps events and Merivel's narration refers to events of the past and to his writing of the first book. This means that you don't strictly have to have read "Restoration" first, and it reveals some light spoilers to the plot if you read them out of order. Although while plot development is part of the joy of the books, the main joy is the characterization of Merivel himself.

Merivel, to the uninitiated, is a physician and courtier to King Charles II. A Falstaff-type character, he is self-depreciating and has an uncanny ability to attract and usually overcome disaster. His behaviour is often selfish and disreputable, but he has a warm heart beneath his rolls of corpulence and he's hard not to love.

What "Merivel" lacks in comparison with "Restoration" is the mirroring of personal events with political times, when Merivel's fortunes and favour with Charles are restored in just the same way as the King is restored to the throne of England. Instead we get the end of the King's reign and Merivel at a loss to find his purpose in live. Also lacking is Merivel's moral sidekick from "Restoration", the Quaker Pearce, although his voice is still much in Merivel's mind.

There's a sadness to Merivel's life as he recalls his glory days. Setting off in search of adventure, he finds himself variously in the Versailles court of King Louis and even as far as Switzerland, inevitably for Merivel, in pursuit of romance. Along the way he acquires a bear and loses those close to him. Part of Merivel's charm has always been his balancing of hope and despair. He is constantly torn by his loves for animals, his daughter, his staff and his king and his love for selfish advancement. Sub-titled "A Man of His Time", Merivel is an everyman with very human qualities that the reader can associate with.

This is historic fiction at its most entertaining and a worthy successor to "Restoration". As even King Charles appreciates, time spent with Merivel is seldom time wasted. You may well need a handkerchief, ideally laundered by Merivel's frequent bedfellow and laundry woman, Rosie Pierpoint, towards the end of the book. Where Merivel goes, disaster is seldom far away so what more could you expect.

"Restoration" is one of my all time favourite novels. To even come close to this is no small achievement and "Merivel A Man of His Time" does not disappoint.

Robert Merivel is a marvellous creation, and his exploits in this book are every bit as moving and hilarious as they were in 'Restoration'. 'Merivel' is funny and devastating all at once, and glows with the warmth of it's soppy, silly, joyful and heart-breaking protagonist. I absolutely adored it. Wonderful, life-affirming stuff.