Caught on Tape: Nell Gwyn

I have always considered Nell as one of the most interesting of all of the mistresses of Charles II. She came from rags to riches and her story would be the one to lend itself more to a movie than some of his other favorites. So I went out in search of Nell. I found several films, but many of them were either bit parts or do not have movie clips. So I included a few still photographs where I could when I felt the film couldn’t be skipped over.

Sweet Nell of Old Drury (1911)

This film is an Australian silent film starring Nellie Stewart as Nell Gwyn and Augustus Neville as King Charles II. This film focused on the relationship between Nell and King Charles. The film is based on a play by the same name performed in 1900. While this film was shown in cinemas for 6 years, it is now considered a lost film and there are no copies believed to be in existence any more. I found this image, however it appears to be from possibly a performance of the play as its stars are not the same as the film.

Mistress Nell (1915)

This is another silent film this time starring Mary Pickford as Nell. Again, this was a play performed on Broadway first under the same name in 1900. Owen Moore co-stars are King Charles II (Pickford’s real life husband). An interesting note for me is that this was film in Connecticut – the state I grew up in! Again, I could not find footage of this film, but I do have and image of a theatre marquee announcing the film.

Nell Gwyn (1926)

This was the first of two movies based on the book Mistress Nell Gwynne by Joseph Shearing. This was a British romance film starring Dorothy Gish as Nell Gwyn and Randle Ayrton as Charles II. It traces the life of Nell through her relationship with Charles. Another silent film and yet another I do not have a video clip of. I have an image of Dorothy Gish as Nell – I think she is the person on the right during one of the various stage performances while Nell was an actress.

Nell Gwyn (1934)

This is the second film based on the book mentioned in the previous listing. This one however, was not a silent film. This film starred Anna Neagle as Nell (her first big success) and Sir Cedric Hardwicke as Charles II. The same plot line as the 1926 version, however the USA wanted to censor aspects of the film and add a moralistic element where Charles and Nell marry. I was able to find this clip of the film, however it appears to not have sound, which is disappointing.

The Last King: Charles II: The Power and the Passion (2003)

There is really quite a jump between the 1930s and 2000s. The Last King is a British miniseries about Charles II and of course Nell is featured. Emma Pierson is Nell and Rufus Sewell is Charles II. While the focus of the film is about Charles, you really can’t explore his life without involving his many mistresses. This miniseries won BAFTA awards for Best Costume Design, Best Drama Serial, and Best Photography and Lighting. The clip below is from Episode 3 and features Nell on stage and meeting Charles II. The actress seems very “Nell” to me. I have added this to my watch list.

Stage Beauty (2004)

She was the first of her kind, He was the last of his.

The last film I have for you today is Stage Beauty. This film is not about Nell, but she has a small part in it. This film is based on the play Compleat Female Stage Beauty. This film takes place right about the time that all male plays were being phased out in favor for female actress playing the female roles. The main character, Ned, is one of those male actors who played female roles and is not in favor of this change. Nell has a small but critical role in this film – and Nell is portrayed by Zoe Trapper. This is a film I might watch. I included the trailer for the film below because the part of the film featuring Nell is not available on Youtube. The film also stars Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, and Rupert Everett.

I have not seen any of these films in their entirety. Have you? Have any of you seen any of the silent films? I read that the 1926 and 1934 films are shown occasionally at certain artsy theatres.





Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court

Book Review: The Darling Strumpet by Gillian Bagwell

The Darling Strumpet by Gillian Bagwell

ARC, Paperback, 384 pages

Berkley Trade

January 4, 2011

★★★★☆

Genre: Historical Fiction

Source: Received for review from publisher

“The Darling Strumpet transports the reader to the tumultuous world of seventeenth-century England, charting the meteoric rise of the dazzling Nell Gwynn from London's slums to its bawdy playhouses, where her saucy humor and sensuous charm earned her the affection of legions of fans-and the heart of the most powerful man in all of England, the King himself.”

I kept putting off reading this book for awhile because I had heard some mixed reviews about it and I wanted to make sure I was in the right mindset to read this one as I knew it had some scandalous scenes. Let me say, if you are one easily turned off by sex scenes in novels, you may not want to read this one – as they are aplenty.

The sex scenes are basically the first thing that you encounter in this book – from about page 4 right through the first half of the book – and they can be pretty descriptive. While there is a lot of sex in the novel – it did make sense as Bagwell takes us through Nell’s life from her childhood through her death. She was a prostitute and eventually a king’s mistress – those details alone make it required somewhere in the text.

Bagwell creates a world that feels so real to a reader. Even for someone who is unfamiliar with this time and place they would easily find themselves at home in this vivid world. The descriptions of the people and the places are absolutely gorgeous. The characters are well constructed. No one is purely one thing or another but very three dimensional. Nowhere was that seen more so than in the lead character of Nell. You can feel all of her emotions and really empathize with her plights. I even shed a few tears for her at the end of the novel which really surprised me as I did not realize how much I enjoyed her.

My favorite scenes were those that took place in the theatres or on stage. You could tell how absolutely in love with acting and the stage Nell was. Even when she eventually leaves it she frequently thinks about going back. We get a lot of information about plays that were performed and how they were performed and the atmosphere of the playhouse. Bagwell certainly did her research.

Gillian Bagwell creates a world that literally jumps off the page and envelops you as a reader. No stone is left unturned and no detail is too small to be included. A truly wonderful atmospheric read. I am interested in getting into her second book, The September Queen, soon.

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• Dizzy C’s Little Book Blog
• Dear Author

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia

Also by Gillian Bagwell:

The September Queen

Venus in Winter

Find Gillian Bagwell: Website | Facebook | Twitter 

 
Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court

Women of Charles II - Nell Gwyn

This is the last woman who loved Charles II that we are going to explore this week. After this one, I think I have hit all of the most important ones. There will still be a book review and vocab posts this week on this subject.

Nell Gwyn was very different from the women Charles’ typically had dalliances with. She was an actress and grew up in the streets – she wasn’t at all refined like the other ladies we saw this week. Nell started off her theatre career at a young age as a vendor of oranges during the productions at the King’s Theatre. She started out acting at age 14. She was able to move up the ranks and become one of the first well known actresses at the time.

Nell met King Charles while watching a show with a date. They seem to have began their relationship shortly thereafter in April of 1668. Nell found her way as mistress relatively unblocked at the time as Barbara Palmer was basically no real competition at the time. Louise de Keroualle would eventually become her rival a few years into their relationship. Nell had 2 sons by Charles: Charles Beauclerk (in 1670) and James Beauclerk (in 1671 – he died at age 6). This would give him 8 sons – and none of these were from his wife!

Her relationship with Charles lasted until his death. He is said to have made the famous statement on his deathbed to his brother James, “And let not poor Nelly starve”. James followed his brother’s request – her debts were paid off, she was given a pension, and her mortgage was paid. Two years after Charles death Nell suffered 2 strokes, one that paralyzed one side and the other that left her bedridden. She died a few months later at the age of 37.

If you would like to read more about Nell try these books:

The King’s Favorite: A Novel of Nell Gwyn and King Charles II by Susan Holloway Scott

Nell Gwyn: Mistress to a King by Charles Beauclerk (a descendant of Charles and Nell)

Nell Gwyn by Derek Parker




Copyright © 2009-2011 by The Maiden’s Court