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The King’s Bed: Sex and Power in the Court of Charles II Audiobook
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Publisher Description
From two veteran historians comes an intelligent and spirited history of Charles II’s dissolute life and surprising legacy.
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 of society such as the actress Nell Gwyn to the aristocratic Louise de Kérouaille. Some of Charles’ women played their part in the affairs of state, coloring the way the nation was run.
The authors take us inside Charles’ palace, where we will meet court favorites, amusing confidants, advisors jockeying for political power, mistresses past and present, as well as key figures in Charles’ inner circle, including his “pimpmasters” and his personal pox doctor.
The astonishing personal 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.
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“While amply fulfilling the salacious promise of its title, this very listenable history of the Merry Monarch and his crew turns out also to be well researched and well written. Narrator Steve West delivers all this in the most proper English and with subdued relish…Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
— AudioFile
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“These romps through Charles’ bed chamber are wonderfully lively.”
— Sunday Times (London) -
“While showing that ‘never again would an English royal court reverberate with such fun and vigor, so much youthful swagger and sexuality,’ the book makes clear that Charles’ sex addiction had its darker side.”
— Mail on Sunday (London) -
“An entertaining history of the antics of the libidinous King Charles II and his licentious court. Tells you everything you need to know about seventeenth-century sex.”
— Tatler (UK) -
“A balanced narrative. Jordan and Walsh excel in describing the king’s unusual willingness to claim and promote many of his illegitimate children. Authentic insight on how salacious sex and the pursuit of pleasure ruled a troubled king.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“Well researched. Those interested in royal history and scandals will delight in the stories and characters contained within these pages.”
— Library Journal -
“The authors make excellent use of a great wealth of resources…The authors’ easy, readable style makes this a solid biography of Charles II, full of sturdy history and enough salacious information to keep it interesting.”
— Kirkus Reviews
Awards
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Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award
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About the Authors
Don Jordan and Michael Walsh have each won awards for investigative journalism. Don Jordan has twice won a Blue Ribbon Award at the New York Film and Television Festival, and Michael Walsh has won a Royal Television Society Award. Together they have written four books, including White Cargo, acclaimed by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison as an “extraordinary book.”
Michael Walsh is a journalist, author, and screenwriter. The former classical music critic and foreign correspondent for Time magazine, he is now a regular contributor of political and cultural commentary to PJ Media and American Greatness, as well as a Sunday op-ed columnist for the New York Post. His awards include the ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award for distinguished music criticism in 1979, and the American Book Awards prize for fiction for his gangster novel, And All the Saints, in 2004.
About Steve West
Steve West, the winner of multiple Earphones Awards for narration, is an international actor who has starred on London’s prestigious West End stage, including productions of Mamma Mia! and Oh, What a Night! He is widely known for his television and film work in both the United States and the UK, and he has performed for Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. He hosts his own television show for the UK live from Los Angeles.