Welcome to Litsy!

This book has been on my TBR for YEARS. And i loved it. I think if you enjoyed Wolf Hall or Crimson Petal and the White, you might like this too. Robert Merivel is a London medical student in the seventeenth century. A lucky chance sees him smiled upon by the king, fated to experience both the highs and lows of this inequitable age. Merivel is a bon vivant - which is often enjoyable - but Tremain has something to say about complacency too.

@Coffeymuse this is how far I got in my current read before bailing, although I might try it again at some point in the future.

#bookedintime #titlesandtunes #sexdrugsandrockandroll #englishcivilwar @Cuilin @Cinfhen @BarbaraBB

Will try to find a book for #bookedintime, but this is definitely my review for #titlesandtunes!

#bookreport @Cinfhen

Continued Count
Finished The New Climate War
Started and finished Yellowface
Started Restoration

My #bookedintime choice is also my #titlesandtunes choice!

The Restoration period is known for its sexual scandals, and the MC in the book is an aspiring physician, so that's the sex and drugs sorted 🤣

Bohemian Rhapsody mentions Beelzebub, who is in John Milton's Paradise Lost, which was written in the same era, and that can serve as the rock and roll reference. #sexdrugsandrockandroll

@Cuilin @Cinfhen @BarbaraBB

I'm not big on challenges, but I think I'll try the #BookedInTime challenge for July. This has been on my TBR for years! After I read it, I can see the film, which apparently stars a very foppish looking Robert Downey Jr. @Cuilin

17th Century, London - Told in 3 parts, this is the story of Robert Merivel who is interested in medicine but hasn‘t finished school because of the death of his father, the King‘s official glove maker. In gratitude, King Charles II appoints Robert a role in the palace as the main physician of the palace dogs. He falls out of favor with the king and things go downhill from there. I am a new fan of Rose Tremain and this book did not disappoint.

🎥 I rented the 1995 movie based on the book and was more than a bit bemused that Robert Downey, Jr., Meg Ryan and Sam Neill had leading roles and; Ian McKellen, Ian McDiarmid and Hugh Grant had secondary roles in a story set in 17th c. England— but got sorta used to it. Movie missed so much of the book, but managed to touch on a lot nonetheless. Sets and costumes were lavish and wonderful. Worth a rental 🙂

🎧 The story of a court doctor during the reign of King Charles II of England, this is a POV1 chronicle of the fortunes and fates of a flawed man through the context of his friendships and his own candid self assessments. There is a bit more about the Plague in London in the final third of the book but nothing graphic.

Wonderfully narrated by the late British actor, Paul Daneman who has a classic “old school”/non-BBC slick accent.

🎧 I started this one *months* ago; but then a bout of anxiety and the pandemic triggered a reading slump. It was easy to jump back into again and I was grateful to get away from the PA stories that seem to be ambushing me; but then THE PLAGUE hits London (18th c.) and I was like, “REALLY!?!” Thankfully it didn‘t end up being a big thing in the book. Heading into the home stretch and eager to see where the protagonist lands