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shanijeanius's review
4.0
I guess Goodreads doesn't do half stars, but I was on the fence with this one.
If you enjoy light historical fiction and don't get too exercised about historical detail (depending on my mood I do and don't), you'll enjoy this. I somehow kept thinking back to an old favorite, Forever Amber, but not because the writing style was in any way similar, just that both of the fictional heroines are in love with the same man.
Parmar's Ellen is genuine, though, while I mostly remember Amber as hard-shelled and grasping. I enjoyed the story-telling style, and I was a little sad that the writer of the gossip column wasn't overtly revealed. I had a hunch I knew who it was though.
For me this was a quick read, and I recommend it. It's possibly not a classic masterpiece, but who is always in the mood for a classic masterpiece? This is a light chocolate bonbon among heavier or meatier works.
If you enjoy light historical fiction and don't get too exercised about historical detail (depending on my mood I do and don't), you'll enjoy this. I somehow kept thinking back to an old favorite, Forever Amber, but not because the writing style was in any way similar, just that both of the fictional heroines are in love with the same man.
Parmar's Ellen is genuine, though, while I mostly remember Amber as hard-shelled and grasping. I enjoyed the story-telling style, and I was a little sad that the writer of the gossip column wasn't overtly revealed. I had a hunch I knew who it was though.
For me this was a quick read, and I recommend it. It's possibly not a classic masterpiece, but who is always in the mood for a classic masterpiece? This is a light chocolate bonbon among heavier or meatier works.
tealrose81's review
4.0
Exit the Actress by Priya Parmar is a novel of diary entries, letters, playbills, gossip columns,and home remedies. Throughout the text Ms. Parmar brings to life Ellen Gwyn, once an "Oyster Girl", with an alcoholic mother and a sister who succumbed to prostitution, who became an actress and then the mistress to King Charles II.
I felt that most of the aspects of the text were seamlessly written. The diaries perfectly executed the voice of Ellen. I was intrigued by her character and enjoyed reading her perspective on the events of the novel. There was a strong historical significance and a strong significance to the characters.
I found this to be an excellent piece of historical fiction. I will definitely be looking for more novels by Priya Parmar in the future.
I felt that most of the aspects of the text were seamlessly written. The diaries perfectly executed the voice of Ellen. I was intrigued by her character and enjoyed reading her perspective on the events of the novel. There was a strong historical significance and a strong significance to the characters.
I found this to be an excellent piece of historical fiction. I will definitely be looking for more novels by Priya Parmar in the future.
meghan's review
1.0
I wish I could say I cared about this book at all, but I didn't. I don't know if it was the way it was written or the characters but I just couldn't even bring myself to finish it.
museoffire's review
5.0
This is a delicious, little confection of a novel that chronicles the life and times of Ellen "Nell" Gwynn who history remembers as perhaps the most beloved of King Charles II mistresses (and the dude had A LOT of mistresses).
With a light comic hand that still manages to convey a great deal of emotion and a wonderful voice that perfectly fits this decadent, volatile time in English history Priya Parmar presents Nell as a good hearted but ambitious woman with a clear headed understanding of what she needs to do to succeed but a strong moral compass and a firm grasp of what she will NOT do.
I love historical fiction that really drops me right into the time period and Parmar does just that. You can smell the air and feel the energy that the pleasure loving King Charles infused the streets of London with. As a veteran board treader I loved the view into the world of restoration theatre when women had just been given the right to perform and going to the theatre was just as much about being seen as it was seeing the latest play. Indeed I cannot remember reading another book that swept me so completely into a another time and place quite the way Ms. Parmar manages to.
This is also what I like to call "smart chick lit." Yeah, yeah, yeah its for girls, my husband wouldn't like it, but its intelligent and witty and assumes that the reader knows enough history going in to not need a lot of pointless exposition about political climates and court intrigue. Any writer who gives me enough credit to find my own footing and trusts I'll get the joke will win a fan for life.
I'm sure its being suggested that Parmar is comparable to Phillipa Gregory but I'd say she far surpasses that author who took a decent idea like "The Other Boleyn Girl" and proceeded to milk it for every possible drop of money she could get, historical context, accuracy and interesting story lines be damned. Parmar is far more interested in writing about Nell's life and who she might have been. She breathes so much vitality into the character and her world that you do truly feel the period come alive. Brava Ms. Parmar! Encore, encore!
With a light comic hand that still manages to convey a great deal of emotion and a wonderful voice that perfectly fits this decadent, volatile time in English history Priya Parmar presents Nell as a good hearted but ambitious woman with a clear headed understanding of what she needs to do to succeed but a strong moral compass and a firm grasp of what she will NOT do.
I love historical fiction that really drops me right into the time period and Parmar does just that. You can smell the air and feel the energy that the pleasure loving King Charles infused the streets of London with. As a veteran board treader I loved the view into the world of restoration theatre when women had just been given the right to perform and going to the theatre was just as much about being seen as it was seeing the latest play. Indeed I cannot remember reading another book that swept me so completely into a another time and place quite the way Ms. Parmar manages to.
This is also what I like to call "smart chick lit." Yeah, yeah, yeah its for girls, my husband wouldn't like it, but its intelligent and witty and assumes that the reader knows enough history going in to not need a lot of pointless exposition about political climates and court intrigue. Any writer who gives me enough credit to find my own footing and trusts I'll get the joke will win a fan for life.
I'm sure its being suggested that Parmar is comparable to Phillipa Gregory but I'd say she far surpasses that author who took a decent idea like "The Other Boleyn Girl" and proceeded to milk it for every possible drop of money she could get, historical context, accuracy and interesting story lines be damned. Parmar is far more interested in writing about Nell's life and who she might have been. She breathes so much vitality into the character and her world that you do truly feel the period come alive. Brava Ms. Parmar! Encore, encore!
librarianelizabeth's review
4.0
Excellent historical fiction, bringing Nell Gwynn alive as a character
fenwench's review
1.0
It's rare that I feel compelled to provide a review of this book, but I feel I must in this instance, both as a historian with an academic interest in the area and a voracious reader of historical fiction.
Upon reading the initial description of this novel online, I was hopeful with some reservations about the way in which it was compiled. The idea of a storyline from memoranda is, in theory, a very good one. However, in practice, this wasn't the case. There was no continuity between the various articles used and often enough, these sections ran contrary to the main storyline or had no relevance to it whatsoever. Thus they became very grating, very quickly. This wasn't helped by the inappropriate language that Parmar chose to use. The modern day vernacular doesn't work in a novel set in the 17th century. In particular, the letters between Charles II and his various relatives was much, much too familiar. These letters sounded as they were written: like 21st century notes that had been foisted into a novel set four hundred years previously. Naturally, this language issue was transcribed into the main diary storyline as well. All in all, it ruined any sense of authenticity regarding the setting. It ensured that there wasn't even a vague sense of accuracy about the setting. This makes me question just how well Parmar did her research. Although she's gotten a lot of her dates in the right place (some are clearly nothing more than speculation), this is about the only place in which it's obvious she did ANY research about the period. The fullness and jollity of the Restoration Era was conspicuously absent from the book. She quotes and includes the usual Dryden, Rochester and Behn - but it's painfully clear she's not read anything to do with their lives, but has rather ushered them in out of necessity to bulk the novel up. Bad form.
My other complaint lies in the fact that there was very little plotline. At all. It just seemed to rather predictably repeat the well-known life story of Nell Gwynn. Many other authors have done the same thing, but with much greater aplomb. The odd diary and memorandum format meant that the novel became almost entirely devoid of motion or dramatic progression. The story just kept coming and coming, but there was very little to further it on. It was almsot as if the author relied entirely upon just the fact the Nell was living to continue the book. When the ending eventually did arrive, it did so in an odd place. Like only half the story had been told, or that Parmar had gotten bored of writing and didn't wish to follow the story out until Nell's death. Thus, the reader leaves her just before the birth of her first child. There is SO much more life to Nell after this point. We lose a lot of Nell's possible personality with Parmar's writing style. Others like Diane Haeger, Susan Holloway Scott and Gillian Bagwell seem to strive to capture the witty personality that history records Nell as possessing. There's nothing of the sort here, and again, I think that is because of the odd choice in narrative format.
It has taken me a very long time to get through this novel - over two months in fact - when I can usually get through a 400 odd page HistFic novel in a couple of days or less. I had to force myself to keep reading, despite the overall dullness, because I love this period so very much. I will not be revisiting this book, or any other that may be accredited to Ms Parmar in future. Although she clearly can write at reasonably high leve, I don't think she's suited to fiction.
Upon reading the initial description of this novel online, I was hopeful with some reservations about the way in which it was compiled. The idea of a storyline from memoranda is, in theory, a very good one. However, in practice, this wasn't the case. There was no continuity between the various articles used and often enough, these sections ran contrary to the main storyline or had no relevance to it whatsoever. Thus they became very grating, very quickly. This wasn't helped by the inappropriate language that Parmar chose to use. The modern day vernacular doesn't work in a novel set in the 17th century. In particular, the letters between Charles II and his various relatives was much, much too familiar. These letters sounded as they were written: like 21st century notes that had been foisted into a novel set four hundred years previously. Naturally, this language issue was transcribed into the main diary storyline as well. All in all, it ruined any sense of authenticity regarding the setting. It ensured that there wasn't even a vague sense of accuracy about the setting. This makes me question just how well Parmar did her research. Although she's gotten a lot of her dates in the right place (some are clearly nothing more than speculation), this is about the only place in which it's obvious she did ANY research about the period. The fullness and jollity of the Restoration Era was conspicuously absent from the book. She quotes and includes the usual Dryden, Rochester and Behn - but it's painfully clear she's not read anything to do with their lives, but has rather ushered them in out of necessity to bulk the novel up. Bad form.
My other complaint lies in the fact that there was very little plotline. At all. It just seemed to rather predictably repeat the well-known life story of Nell Gwynn. Many other authors have done the same thing, but with much greater aplomb. The odd diary and memorandum format meant that the novel became almost entirely devoid of motion or dramatic progression. The story just kept coming and coming, but there was very little to further it on. It was almsot as if the author relied entirely upon just the fact the Nell was living to continue the book. When the ending eventually did arrive, it did so in an odd place. Like only half the story had been told, or that Parmar had gotten bored of writing and didn't wish to follow the story out until Nell's death. Thus, the reader leaves her just before the birth of her first child. There is SO much more life to Nell after this point. We lose a lot of Nell's possible personality with Parmar's writing style. Others like Diane Haeger, Susan Holloway Scott and Gillian Bagwell seem to strive to capture the witty personality that history records Nell as possessing. There's nothing of the sort here, and again, I think that is because of the odd choice in narrative format.
It has taken me a very long time to get through this novel - over two months in fact - when I can usually get through a 400 odd page HistFic novel in a couple of days or less. I had to force myself to keep reading, despite the overall dullness, because I love this period so very much. I will not be revisiting this book, or any other that may be accredited to Ms Parmar in future. Although she clearly can write at reasonably high leve, I don't think she's suited to fiction.
kristinaskliffnotes's review
5.0
Words can not express how much I loved this book. The writing style was fantastic. Ms. Parmar made me feel like I really knew Nell and all of her friends and family. All the characters were well developed and believable. I especially loved that the book read like a diary. A book that I would recommend to anyone.
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