Rose Tremain has a gift with words and Sean Barrett’s performance was perfection. Ultimately, I was saddened when it ended. I couldn’t help but root for him despite his habit of making poor choices. Going on this journey with this complex and flawed man has been a pleasure through the up and downs and ALL around. It’s funny, unexpected, elegiac, insightful, and beautifully written.Įxtremely well-written and highly entertaining two book series. To try and summarise this book would be counterproductive however, rest assured, if you liked ' Restoration' then you will feel the same way about this. Merivel remains both deeply flawed and extremely likeable. Merivel is coming towards the end of his life, as are the book's other two main characters, Merivel's faithful manservant, Will, and his beloved monarch Charles II. This is also an older, wiser Merivel, confronting his mortality and his love for his daughter, who is becoming ever more independent. It is set nearly 20 years after ' Restoration', in 1683-85, and England is going bust, poverty and unrest are threatening to overrun it, and the certainties of Charles II early reign are coming undone. ‘ Merivel: A Man of His Time' is every bit as good as ' Restoration'.

I read it with some trepidation as it seemed unlikely that Rose Tremain could repeat the trick - especially with over two decades between writing the first book and the second. Discovering there was a sequel was wonderful. ' Merivel: A Man of His Time' (2014) is the follow up to ' Restoration' (1989), which I have just finished and which I adored. Whilst some readers may be less than charmed by a may who lives a parasitical life others will no doubt put that to one side and be charmed by the way in which Tremaine is looking at what it means to be a man (or woman).įunny, unexpected, elegiac, insightful, and beautifully written Merivel's self awareness means that we're presented with a rounded character who feels his limitations keenly but is nevertheless rarely crippled by his own sense of inadequacy. In some ways this is true of Merivel in that he has reached a balance in his life where he knows who he is and has the strength to avoid self delusion. The beauty of this book is that you can see how Tremaine's prose style had matured to the point where it's more measured and confident.

If you're expecting to simply pick up where 'Restoration' leaves off you'll be disappointed but if you're interested in the game Tremaine is playing with ageing - both with herself and with her main character - you're in for a treat. I much prefer this work to much of Tremaine's recent writing.

Rose tremain merivel