There’s one thing that holds true with most royal mistress novels: You know how this story is going to end. Your heroine might find her happy ever after, but chances are, it isn’t going to be found with the king. While there may be a torrid relationship and there likely will be passion and a sense of the forbidden, most of the time the mistress ends up with a vast fortune, a title of nobility, a fabulous estate, and a couple of part-royal children.

Even if the mistress doesn’t always win, royal mistress novels are still popular, and Susan Holloway Scott is one of the genre’s best authors. The Countess and the King is her fifth novel about a royal mistress, and it serves as a bridge between her first novel, Duchess, set during the reign of William and Mary, and her more recent novels, set during the reign of Charles II. Well-known figures from both eras make an appearance, including the legendary actress (and mistress to Charles II) Nell Gwyn.

Katherine Sedley isn’t as attractive as most of the ladybirds flitting around the royal court, but she has something that many of them do not have: Brains and wit. Raised by her father, who encouraged her to be independent and praised her for making bawdy jokes to entertain his libertine circle, Katherine doesn’t know how to be meek or mild. Her life is one of wealth and pleasure, and even though she isn’t pretty, her personality draws men to her. (Her family’s fortune doesn’t hurt, either.) After a heartbreaking affair with a fickle young man who uses her and leaves her, Katherine finds a position as a lady-in-waiting in King Charles’s court. While serving the king, Katherine meets the king’s brother James, Duke of York. James has a bit of reputation as an uptight bore, possibly because he’s one of the few Catholics in Charles’s solidly Protestant court, and possibly because he keeps his extracurricular activities quiet, unlike Charles, who regularly flaunted his affairs.

Katherine has to learn how to deal with royal court politics. She’s no longer able to speak her mind as she always has, because speaking her mind can cause trouble both for her and for her lover. When James ascends to the English throne after his brother’s death, Katherine’s situation becomes even more difficult. The English people aren’t keen on a Catholic monarch, and James quickly finds that ruling his country will take much more than keen political sensibilities.

Very little is known of the real Katherine Sedley. Unlike some of the other royal mistresses Scott has written about, there isn’t much of a historical record on Katherine, so much of the novel is speculation. That said, it doesn’t read like speculation – the historical details are spot-on, and Katherine fits into the story seamlessly. There’s plenty of humor, coming both from Katherine and her libertine father, and the love story between Katherine and James is enjoyable.

Susan Holloway Scott is one of my favorite authors of biographical historical fiction. Her novels blend historical fact and creative speculation to tremendous effect. I look forward to seeing where she goes next.