Restoration

The Alchemy of Court and Clay

In Restoration, Rose Tremain transports readers to the opulent yet fragile world of 17th-century England, where art and desire collide beneath Charles II’s glittering court. Robert Merivel, a talented but wayward physician, finds his fortunes transformed when the king, amused by his wit and skill, appoints him as court physician. Lavished with silken robes and gilded chambers, Merivel indulges in the pleasures of palace life—banquets under chandeliers, whispered confidences in rose-scented salons, and secret affairs that test the limits of his ambition. Yet beneath the velvet masks and scented flasks lies a kingdom still healing from civil war, where loyalty is a currency more precarious than gold.

Shadows Behind the Velvet Curtain

As Merivel’s days become a whirl of powdered wigs and painted smiles, he grows increasingly aware of the price of favor. Torn between the dazzling allure of courtly intrigue and his unspoken longing for authenticity, he risks scandal by tending to outcasts languishing in crowded poorhouses. When he falls for Celia, a spirited young widow with a clandestine past, Merivel’s illusions shatter—and he finds himself cast out from the king’s favor. Stripped of titles and trappings, he must journey from the marble halls of Whitehall to the sodden fields of rural Kent, rediscovering his true purpose among the humble souls whose stories are written in the soil rather than the scroll.

Rebirth in the Mud and Light

In a powerful climax set amid the marshlands and market towns beyond London’s walls, Merivel confronts the legacy of his choices—and the possibility of redemption that blooms in unexpected places. Rose Tremain’s lyrical prose and keen historical insight illuminate a hero’s fall from grace and subsequent resurrection, weaving themes of identity, love, and the healing power of compassion. Restoration is both a sumptuous portrait of an era defined by excess and a timeless meditation on the human capacity to rebuild—in body, spirit, and community—after the darkest of storms.

. Rose Tremain is an acclaimed British novelist and Booker Prize finalist, celebrated for her richly textured historical narratives, lyrical storytelling, and profound explorations of character and transformation.