The Other Gwyn Girl
Step into the historical background to the dual time novel The Other Gwyn Girl by Nicola Cornick!
Step into the historical background to the dual time novel The Other Gwyn Girl by Nicola Cornick!
The Other Gwyn Girl tells the story of Rose Gwyn, older sister of the more famous Nell, who was an orange-seller at the theatre, an actress in Restoration London and the mistress of King Charles II.
The story begins in Oxford in 1648 at the end of the English Civil War. Captain Thomas Gwyn, father of Rose and Nell, died in a debtor's prison in Oxford leaving his wife Helena to raise their two daughters alone in poverty.
St Giles, Oxford
Helena Gwyn and her daughters returned to London, where she had been born, living in a tiny backstreet slum near Covent Garden. Helena helped to run a brothel where both Nell and Rose sold what was known as "strong waters" to gentlemen - strong alcoholic drinks.
By Gerard van Honthorst - Web Gallery of Art: Public Domain
By 1665 Nell was performing as an actress with the King's Company, which had been founded two years before by Thomas Killigrew. She had wonderful comic timing and was quick and clever, earning the description, "pretty, witty Nell" from the diarist Samuel Pepys. King Charles II, who had been restored to the throne of England in 1660, was a frequent visitor to the theatre in Drury Lane and Nell quickly caught his eye, becoming his mistress in 1667.
Meanwhile Nell's older sister Rose, had taken a different course in life. Rose sold oranges to the customers at the theatre and oysters as a street seller, she had been imprisoned for debt at the age of 16 when the family were thrown out of their lodgings, and she had married a highwayman!
Captain James Hind was a 17th century highwayman like Rose Gwyn's first husband
The Other Gwyn Girl is set in 1671, a year that was momentous for a famous attempt by Captain Thomas Blood to steal the crown jewels from the Tower of London. This episode is key to the story so no spoilers here! Here the fictional story parts company from the "true" history of Nell and Rose Gwyn for although Rose's husband was a criminal there is no evidence to prove he was involved in the plot.
Raven at the Tower of London
From London, the story moves to the Oxfordshire countryside and to a manor house known as Becote, which is modelled on Beckett House in Shrivenham. These days Beckett is part of a college but the current house replaced a Tudor manor on the same site and the gardens, lake and arboretum still remain. So does the glorious little "China House", reputed to have been designed by the famous architect Inigo Jones in the 17th century. Both the China House and the little white bridge you can see in the picture are important elements in the book.
The China House and bridge, Shrivenham
Other places in the village of Shrivenham, such as the Church of St Andrew, Bloomfields fabulous deli cafe and the history centre also feature in the book! But the climactic scene, and the confrontation between Rose, Nell and the men who are striving to ruin them, takes place at a historic house very close to my heart, Ashdown Park. Ashdown, built in the mid-seventeenth century for the Earl of Craven as a hunting lodge, was the perfect bolthole where King Charles and Nell Gwyn could spend some time together. Hunting lodges, being so much less formal than grand houses, and all about sport of entertainment, were often used for romantic trysts and other secret activities.
Ashdown House, Oxfordshire
The Other Gwyn Girl roots Rose and Nell's story in historical fact whilst spinning a mystery that occurs in the past and is solved in the present. Like all my novels it takes women from the footnotes of history and brings their stories centre stage. As for the real Rose and Nell, well, I wouldn't want to spoil the book, but there is no mention of Rose in the historical record after she married for the second time... From which I would like to conclude she lived a long and happy life. As for her sister, the famous Eleanor Gwyn, she was a celebrity and a folk hero, particularly to the people of London who saw her story as a rags to riches tale of an ordinary girl who had risen through her determination, wit and personality but who never forgot that she was one of them.
The portrait of Nell Gwyn that inspired The Other Gwyn Girl