“A large gentleman was strolling from group to group in one of the great galleries of Whitehall. He was very exquisite, this gentleman, adorned with all the coloured silks, velvets and furbelows which that Year of Grace, 1668, demanded […] He was the Most Noble the Marquis of Roxhythe, the King’s favourite and the ladies’ darling […] He was the perfect courtier, combining grace and insolence even more successfully than his Grace of Buckingham.”
Georgette Heyer’s second novel is entirely unlike her greater-known works. A departure from her other historical books, The Great Roxhythe is not centered around a grand romance, but on the devotion of one man to another. In fact, it was so different from her other works that the author actually suppressed its further publication during her own lifetime, most likely out of fear for its politics and its characters’ relationships being misunderstood. Fortunately, Skyboat Media has resurrected this ambitious and heart-breaking novel for audio!
The story begins in 1668 in the court of Charles II and follows the adventures of the Marquis of Roxhythe, a spy in service to the crown. The king’s return from exile, caused by the Puritanical regime of Oliver Cromwell, is met with gratitude by the people, but Parliament refuses to give him the money he requires. Charles puts the task of securing funds to Roxhythe. A courtier through and through, and a master manipulator to boot, Roxhythe throws himself into the job, but soon he must address a vital problem: what is good for Charles may not be what is good for England. So is Roxhythe a patriot to his country, or loyalist to a man in a crown?
Featuring an introduction by Stefan Rudnicki.
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