After escaping to France from England after the fall of Charles I, Frances Stuart was raised in genteel poverty and on stories of her family’s previous prominence. Marci Jefferson’s debut novel, Girl on the Golden Coin: A Novel of Frances Stuart, starts the narration of Frances’ story immediately preceding the restoration of Charles II. An extraordinary beauty, Frances captivates the court of Versailles but turns down King Louis XIV desire to make her his mistress. Then she moves to London where the Queen Mother wants her to become King Charles II,’s mistress to ensure he follows the one true Catholic faith. Frances and King Charles develop a strong and intimate relationship, but were they ever lovers? No person alive today knows for sure.
Jefferson masterfully weaves the tale of Frances through the religious, court and political controversies of Whitehall during the Restoration. All the while, Frances guards the Stuart secrets and takes care of her family. Jefferson’s lush descriptions of the gardens, palaces, jewels and dresses pop off the page. These descriptions alone would make reading the book enjoyable and worthwhile. My favorite factoid in the book was that King Charles II had the famous image of Brittania modeled after Frances because in his mind Frances beautifully represented all of the great attributes of England.
If I have a criticism of the book, it would be that I would prefer it included even more information on the political and religious intrigues. But everyone isn’t as interested in politics as I am and that might have made it twice as long. Jefferson told me that she wanted to do for the Stuart family what Philippa Gregory has done for the Tudors. Anglophiles should adore this book which is a strong addition to the historical fiction genre. I expect great things from Marci Jefferson in the future.
