I had the pleasure of having historian and author Nicola Cornick on my Stuart Saturday Live Show a few months ago in June, when we discussed the Restoration period, Elizabeth Stuart, Lord Craven, Ashdown House, her previous books set in the 17th-century and much more. She was a delightful guest and — at the time of our show — I hadn’t yet finished reading her most recent book, The Other Gwyn Girl, which was released earlier this year (2024).
I finished this novel back in August, however, and really enjoyed it. Published by Boldwood Books Ltd, The Other Gwyn Girl, has a lovely cover in striking colours: a bluey-green background and a red-haired woman in a stunning red dress. After the title on the cover comes the line, “The sister that history forgot” – and this is true enough. Most people who are interested in history will have heard about the talented comic actress Nell Gwyn, the saucy, popular, and beloved mistress of King Charles II who is famed not only for this relationship but for her rise from poverty to affluence. What is lesser known is that Nell had a sister, Rose, who was a couple of years older. As Nicola explained in the show, there are a few records but not much, and this largely unknown aspect of Rose’s life inspired her novel, The Other Gwyn Girl, which focuses on this enigmatic figure.
As the book tracks Rose’s life in the seventeenth century, which includes imprisonment in jail, difficult relationships both with lovers and with her sister, Nell, and her determination to survive in a time of political intrigue (the theft of the Crown Jewels plays a big part), there is also a second story, one which follows Jess – who lives in modern-day Oxford. Jess has had her own struggles, particularly with her significant other, whose poor decisions have negatively impacted her life.
The book, to me, is about the bond between sisters, despite their differences. This duel-timeslip book focuses on two sets of sisters: Rose and Nell in the 17th century, and Jess and Tavy in our own time. Tavy is a celebrity, living life on camera, whilst Jess is the opposite, hoping for a quieter existence – something unlikely to happen when she agrees to help her sister at Fortune Hall, a manor house with a mysterious past, that Tavy is featuring in her tv show. There are clear similarities between the sisters: Tavy (Octavia) is similar to Nell – being an extrovert and famous, whilst Rose and Jess are not.
There are several male characters in this modern-day story, and for some reason, I kept getting Ethan and secondary character, Ed, mixed up – both good characters (although Ethan clearly is rather dreamy). So, I would just say to pay attention there, but it was probably just me reading too late at night.
In the seventeenth-century storyline, which was my favourite (unsurprisingly), and Rose makes for a sympathetic heroine with generally poor taste in men. This said, I very much enjoyed the character of Colonel Guy Forster, who is kind and dutiful (and very likeable!). I also loved cameos of famous c17 persons such as Elias Ashmole and Thomas Blood: great fun for a Stuart fan.
By the novel’s end, I was sad to leave these characters, whose stories were artfully and beautifully crafted. I didn’t want the stories to conclude, so much had I become enveloped in a dual-time world only Nicola Cornick could have created. Brava!
