The Beauties transports the reader to the 1660s, and the court of Charles II. It is the story of a woman, Emilia, who is trying to assist her husband in regaining his lands after they were confiscated by the crown. Emilia finds herself trying to avoid becoming the King’s mistress and hatches a plot to delay him until after her portrait is completed to hang with the other ‘Beauties’.
This novel features the viewpoints of three diverse but equally compelling characters.
Emilia is out-of-this-world beautiful, but this has mostly been a curse for her whole life. She has an interest and talent for art but for a lady of her station it should only be a pastime. Anne-Hyde is part of the Princesses exiled court at the Hague. She has commissioned the ‘beauties’ portrait series and is in love with the King’s brother who is well above her status. The painter’s assistant, Henry, is the final viewpoint. He is tasked with painting Emilia as part of the ‘Beauties’ series. Art links them all.
I really enjoyed this look into art, politics and the Royal court. This is very much a character-driven novel. The plot is quite limited but that doesn’t detract from the enjoyment when reading. The success of this novel is in the beautiful language. It is lush and evokes a sense of time and place. Overall, I enjoyed learning about this period, it gave insight into the roles and struggles of women of the time, not unlike a contemporary setting. Highly recommended.
Reviewed by Nicola Skinstad
Read an interview with Lauren Chater about her book, Gulliver’s Wife
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lauren Chater is the author of the historical novels The Lace Weaver and Gulliver’s Wife, as well as the baking compendium Well Read Cookies – Beautiful Biscuits Inspired by Great Literature.
In 2018 she was awarded a grant by the Neilma Sidney Literary Fund to travel to the Netherlands to research her third novel The Winter Dress, inspired by a real 17th century gown found off the Dutch coast in 2014.
She has made appearances at the Brisbane Writers Festival, Storyfest, the Southern Highlands Writers’ Festival and the Tamar Valley Writers’ Festival, as well as many others.
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