The King's Favorite

"Vance has masterfully captured an exciting moment in English history, filled with dark political intrigue and radiantly salacious liaisons." –Michael Hartnett, author of The Blue Rat The King's Favorite is a mystery thriller set during one of the most spirited, scandalous, and memorable periods in English history—the Restoration—when the son of an executed king brought monarchy back to England after the repressive years of the Commonwealth. Following the coronation of Charles II came a reopening of the theaters, with the first women performing on the English public stage. What follows is a devastating London plague and fire, a monarch who openly indulged his sexual proclivities, a series of plots against the crown, and the first true collection of female celebrities—as actresses, mistresses, and even orange girls.