Lucy Lets Loose

Readers of this blog, and there are some, will know of this writer’s affection for Dr Lucy Worsley, History and the BBC’s Lord Peter Wimsey jolly super girl. She’s back again on BBC Four presenting the intriguingly entitled ‘Harlots, Housewives and Heroines’ and a spiffing programme it is too. From salons in France to barrows in London, we surveyed the 1660s and the Restoration. Dr Lucy, for ‘thetvreviewguy’ shall be calling her that from hereon in, looked at the lot of women in Charles II’s time – and if, gentle womenfolk, you were one of his Mistresses, then your lot in life was pretty good. Charlie 2 had 13 illegitimate children and stationed his lovers close to Home or in various royal palaces. Dr Lucy positively revelled in dressing up as both courtesan and puritan. The viewer was left wondering where Charles got the time for his amorousness; his activities fuelled avid gossip at Court and among the hoi polloi too. We learnt of how Pepys, whom Dr Lucy called a ‘perv’, had a collection of lithographs of the King’s Mistresses. Being a royal doxy meant living a ‘codefied relationship’; there were rules about how to be treated and it was usually with more respect than most other women. Long may Dr Lucy reign over us with her distinctive breathlessness, grace and cheeky smile. Definitely one for your consideration, fops and fopesses.