Exit the Actress

WhilesellingorangesintheTheatreRoyal,CoventGarden,sweetandsprightlyEllen"Nell"Gwynimpressesthetheater’sproprietorswithawitandsparklethatbelieheryouthandpoverty.Shequicklyearnsaplaceinthecompany,narrowlyavoidingthelifeofprostitutiontowhichhersisterhasalreadysuccumbed.Asherrolesevolvefromsupportingtostarring,thescopeofherlifebroadensaswell.SoonEllenisdressedinthefinestfashions,charmingthetheatrical,literary,androyalluminariesofRestorationEngland.Ellengrowsuponthestage,experiencingfirstloveandheartbreakandeventuallybecomingthemistressofCharlesII.Despitehisreputationasalibertine,Ellenwhollycaptureshisheart—andhehers—buteventhemostpowerfulloveisn’tenoughtostaveoffthegossipandbittercourtpoliticsthataccompanyaroyalromance.Tellingthestorythroughacollectionofvibrantseventeenth-centuryvoicesrangingfromEllen’sdiarytoplaybills,letters,gossipcolumns,andhomeremedies,PriyaParmarbringstolifethestoryofanendearinganddelightfulheroine.