The books I got all have the sickly-sweet smell of tobacco permeating the pages, and “Delores ” written inside the cover. I was excited about it back in March, when I originally ordered the 8 book series on ebay. I admit it, I judged Angélique by its covers. Is it a must read romance novel? Although I haven’t got to them yet, Angélique seems like an important precursor to the 1970s bodice-rippers, so if you’re interested in those… Reasons to read this title: Passionate historical novelization of the reign of Louis XIV, the Sun King. She is… the intelligent and beautiful 19 year old daughter of an impoverished baron. He is… a Comte with hideous scars, a golden voice, and more gold than the King.

Setting time & place: Late 17th century France Are things really sexier in France? Is Anne Golon’s Angélique a romance or have I been duped again by the confusion of “scandalously sexy” and “bodice ripper” with lay definitions of romance? Let’s see…

But it's a guilty pleasure, and at the end of the day isn't that the best kind? And if you enjoy the kind of emotional catharsis that comes from period melodrama this is a satisfying conclusion to the story.Over 22 million Angélique books in print, says the cover of my 1975 Bantam Books’ edition of Anne Golon’s scandalous novel. That's not to say there's no fun to be had as Angelique claws her way back into polite society by any means necessary, which includes sleeping with every major male character. In 17th century Paris the good perish and the evil prosper. Where in conventional fiction virtue is rewarded and evil is punished, Golon turns this on its head. Where before she was merely obnoxious, here she is heartless and manipulative, which puts her on a level with the other characters. Angelique is somewhat changed since the events in Volume One. And indeed there is a sense in this second volume that when you reach the bottom, like our heroine, the only way to go is up. Still with me? To be fair, after the disturbing shambles of Book One I didn't plan to continue, but I found myself literally haunted by the story, so I not only had to re-assess what I'd read, I also had to find out what happened next.

Firstly, if you didn't already read Book One, please do so now.

Angelique and the King by Anne Golon