Exit the Actress (Original)

by Priya Parmar

From the critically acclaimed author of Vanessa and Her Sister, the debut novel hailed by New York Times bestselling author Philippa Gregory as "a vivid imagining of the restoration London of Charles II with Nell Gwynn as a powerful and engaging heroine."

While selling oranges in the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, sweet and sprightly Ellen Nell Gwyn impresses the theater's proprietors with a wit and sparkle that belie her youth and poverty. She quickly earns a place in the company, narrowly avoiding the life of prostitution to which her sister has already succumbed. As her roles evolve from supporting to starring, the scope of her life broadens as well. Soon Ellen is dressed in the finest fashions, charming the theatrical, literary, and royal luminaries of Restoration England.

Ellen grows up on the stage, experiencing first love and heartbreak and eventually becoming the mistress of Charles II. Despite his reputation as a libertine, Ellen wholly captures his heart--and he hers--but even the most powerful love isn't enough to stave off the gossip and bitter court politics that accompany a royal romance.

Telling the story through a collection of vibrant seventeenth-century voices ranging from Ellen's diary to playbills, letters, gossip columns, and home remedies, Priya Parmar brings to life the story of an endearing and delightful heroine.

• ISBN10: 1439171173
• ISBN13: 9781439171172
• Publish Date: 1 February 2011
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Simon & Schuster
• Edition: Original ed.
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 464
• Language: English

Reviews

[Whitney @ First Impressions Reviews]

Ellen "Nell" Gwyn is an orange girl selling fruit in the Theatre Royal during the 1660s. Even then, advancement in the world is all about who you know, while selling oranges to the actors of the stage she slowly befriends them and becomes a star in her own right and eventually comes to the bed of King Charles II. Through Ellen's diary entries, playbills, gossip columns, letters and home remedies the reader is introduced to her spunk, determination and her magnificent story.

Words can not describe Priya Parmar's novel Exit The Actress, it is so rich and vibrant that I felt like I was actually in the audience watching Nell perform and wanted to reach out for one of her oranges. While reading Nell's journal entries I wanted to be her friend, with her tell it like it is attitude she would be a wonderful acquaintance to sip tea with and discuss the eyes and ears of Ambrose Pinky Esq. and his latest exposé. Throughout the novel there is the subtle climb to Miss Gwyn's love affair with King Charles II, and because of such reads as a suspense novel. Although, no matter how deletable Exit The Actress is this is not a book to be rushed into but instead must stop and smell the flowers, leaving the reader hungry for the last word.