A very sad story of a man who was never happy.

I do not recommend this book, Restoration was a good book and the story should have ended there. Why restore a man just to have him come to such a miserable end with no redemption is a waste of time and writing talent. As Merivel had no redeemable qualities neither does this book. It took me forever to read and depressed the hell out of me.

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On Foolishness and Mortality

This book picks up 15 years after King Charles II has restored Robert Merivel to his former grand house, Bidnold, in Norfolk. Both the King and Merivel, as well as his faithful servant Will Gates, are aging; Merivel is now 56 and his daughter Margaret has grown into a graceful beauty whom he is very attached to. When their neighbours propose to take her away with them to Cornwall for a time, the notion of this separation depresses Merivel so much that the King suggests Merivel set out to Versailles for a change of air, and to seek the patronage of his cousin Louis XIV as one of his court doctors. But when Merivel arrives at the French palace, he is discouraged to find his letter from King Charles does not help to discern him from the masses of supplicants equally looking from favour from the the Sun King, and he is obliged to share a garret with a Dutch clockmaker and subside on a diet of peas and jam, with drinking water supplied from the public water fountains, and to add insult to injury, he also has to put up with ridicule from the courtiers who find his clothes and accessories aren't up to the latest standards of Versailles fads.

Things start looking up when he meets with a Swiss beauty called Louise de Flamanville who proposes to bring him to a couturier to outfit him with the necessary bows and ribbons. She happens to dabble in chemical experiments and quickly takes on Merivel as her lover, until her wrathful husband, a homosexual guardsman, eventually provokes him into a duel. Later on, Merivel is forced to make a choice which reminds him too much of the past in the form of a marriage of convenience which is to bring him great wealth and splendour, but that choice has led him down the wrong path once before, making him indebted forever, and he had promised himself not to repeat that mistake again.

Instead, he rescues a captive bear from certain death, which is later christened Clarendon by the King, and brings him back to Bidnold. Now Merivel hopes to make something of his life by starting work on a treatise inspired to him by Clarendon, and which seeks to prove that animals have souls, which of course, he eventually abandons. Clarendon himself comes to a bad end, first escaping his pen, then pursued by the angry countrymen who's animals the bear has eaten during his escape, he is eventually caught and put to death, then cut into pieces to be eaten in equal shares among the country folk.

Merivel's daughter Margaret almost dies from Typhoid fever, but is brought back home in time, and through his attentive care, he manages to rescue her, only to be discouraged by the the fact that King Charles has taken an interest in her during her recovery. Would the King actually betray him, his most valiant and loyal supporter, by ruining his daughter's reputation? When the King asks Margaret to join his household as lady in waiting to his favourite mistress, Merivel is in no position to refuse. Life is certainly never dull in Merivel's world, though it is fraught with many risks.

When we initially met Robert Merivel in Restoration, the first novel, it was clear he was a misguided man with a melancholy disposition, but also an essentially a good person with a good heart who seeks to enjoy life to the utmost, at the risk of making terrible blunders which were comical to the reader. By this second novel, he's become that much more reflective, and he has his notebooks from the past which his faithful Will has preserved for him to look back on and to measure his progress up against. He knows that both he and his King don't have much longer to live and that he is at the end of an era, so his overall tone can't help but be that much more melancholy as he reflects on mortality, yet he seems that much more human for it too.

Very highly recommended, but must be read in sequence following Restoration.

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A sad conclusion to Merival

Read the first book to understand Merival. This book is sad but I think it tells the story of many lives.

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Loved it...3 times so far! WONDERFUL NARRATOR.

Memorable characters and interesting insight into 17th century life in Europe. Excellent historical novel. Be sure to listen to prequel, RESTORATION, prior to this one.

Excellent

Extremely well-written and highly entertaining.. Going on this journey with this complex and flawed man has been a pleasure through the ups and downs and ALL around. I couldn’t help but root for him and ultimately was sad when it ended. Rose Tremain has a gift with words and Sean Barrett’s performance was perfection.

Disappointing

I loved Restoration which preceded Merivel and bought this not realizing it has a different performer. Paul Daneman’s performance was brilliant in Restoration. but IMO Sean Barrett’s in Merivel was lifeless and dark. I could not finish Merivel even though the story was intriguing and well writtten.

As others have said- read Restoration first

I remember somewhat enjoying the 90s film Restoration, starring Robert Downey Jr. The book, however, is so much better. That said, this is a review for the sequel- Merivel. I listened to this immediately after finishing Restoration. Some readers have remarked on how sad it was. There were lots of very endearing and laugh out loud moments for me, and yes, some parts were a little sad, but that is not a reason to dislike the book. I think Tremain captured the essence of a person who, at the middle to end of his/her/their life is taking stock and reflecting the good, the bad, the embarrassing, the regretful and realizing that while some of it was painful, it all encompasses who they are. I think that is a beautiful and true thing. That, at least, is what I got out of it. But yes, start with Restoration.. and I do recommend reading Merivel right after so that the through line is not lost.

Read “Restoration “ First

….. or you will be lost. Still- I could listen to Merivel and his adventures,woes, achievements forever. The inner-workings of his mind were what interested me most. For all his greed and failings- the tenderest of hearts beat. I enjoyed the narrator of the first book better- UNTIL - it dawned on me that this more serious tone befitted the last half of this story just fine- and his accents are so well done. Read both- historical fiction at its best!

Great

Downloaded by mistake. Thoroughly enjoy it. Was sorry to fing it was finished. Great reading.