The Empress of Ice Cream by Anthony Capella is a rich, inviting book. This historical fiction novel intertwines the lives of Louise de Keroualle, a impoverished French noblewoman, who was sent to England in order for her to become Charles II’s mistress and influence his decision in the direction that would most favor France. The other main character is the fictional Carlo Demirco, a confectioner who masters the art of making delectable ices and establishes himself at the court of Louis XIV. He, too, is sent to England both to tempt the English king with his exquisite desserts and to help pass messages from Louise to the French.

I found it fascinating to read about the process of making and developing ice cream. Some of his flavour combinations had me drooling while others didn’t take my fancy at all. But certainly his descriptions of peach, strawberry or chocolate ice creams left me craving a dish for myself. Meanwhile Louise de Keroualle was an interesting woman to read of as she continually had to balance her desire for virtue with her desire to influence the king. Once she became the King’s mistress she still had to fight for her position at the English Court and her rivalry with Nell Gwyn was hilarious. Her manoeuvrings and political intrigues were instrumental in developing English policies at a time when Catholics were both feared and reviled.

The author, who is famous for his food-themed novels, knows how to tempt his readers and The Empress of Ice Cream was a colorful, delicious story that I enjoyed very much. ( )

"Su cuerpo pertenece a un rey, pero ¿quién podrá derretir su corazón? Versalles, Siglo XVII. Louise de Keroualle, hija de una familia noble que ha perdido buena parte de sus riquezas, vive en la Corte de Luis XIV con la esperanza de encontrar un buen marido. Allí conoce a Carlo Demirco cuyo talento culinario le ha permitid o gozar de una posición privilegiada en la Corte del Rey Sol. Los dos serán enviados a Inglaterra donde compartirán la misión de seducir al rey Carlos II. Ella mediante sus encantos y él con su exquisito arte de hacer helados. En este entorno tan intrigante como distinguido, Carlo se sentirá profundamente atraído por la hermosa y enigmática Louise e intentará conquistarla, poniendo en jaque su fidelidad al rey."

In the late 1600s, Carlo Demirco’s skill at creating ice creams has brought him from lowly beginnings in Italy, to the court of King Louis XIV of France. There he meets the intriguing Louise de Keroualle, a lady-in-waiting from a noble but penniless French family.

From there, Carlo is sent to London, to work as confectioner to King Charles II. Louise is sent as well, to become the mistress of Charles, thus furthering France’s political aims. But while Louise works on seducing Charles, Carlo finds himself increasingly drawn to her, and is faced with the unpleasant situation of encouraging the relationship between the object of his desire and the English King.

I was looking forward to reading this, as I had previously thoroughly enjoyed The Various Flavours of Coffee, by the same author. While I did like The Empress of Ice Cream, it did not captivate me in the same way. The writing is descriptive and evocative, and the machinations and dealings of ministers both in France and England were well described. The politics of the story were interesting, and made me want to learn more about the period, but I found I could not warm to Carlo or Louise. Louise in particular always seemed like a distant character, and although the book is narrated by both Carlo and Louise, she never seemed fully fleshed out (although she was in fact a real person; Carlo is fictional, but has his basis in reality). However, I did like the gradual change in her character – from the point of view of an observer, it was interesting to see her priorities change, and see how she justified her own actions to herself.

On balance, I think I would recommend this book, mainly for the political intrigue, and the descriptions of Carlo’s ice desserts, which are liberally scattered throughout the book. ( )

1671. Carlo Dimerco is the only man in the world who knows how to make ice cream. As confectioner to Louis XIV, his talents are kept a closely guarded secret and his dishes served up for the King's pleasure only. But Carlo has fallen hopelessly in love with Louise de Keroualle, an impoverished lady-in-waiting to Henrietta d'Angleterre, sister of Charles II of England. When Henrietta dies suddenly, Louise and Carlo's lives are changed irrevocably when they are sent to London. It quickly becomes clear that Charles II wants Louise as his mistress. There ensues a famous rivalry between Louise and the king's other mistress, the cockney actress Nell Gwyn. But Carlo is heartbroken. The only power he has left to wield is through his exquisite ice cream confections ...Where will his loyalties lie? Will he seek his revenge?

My Thoughts:

I knew Charles II had many mistresses, the ones that I know are Nell Gwynn and Barbara Castlemaine, but I had never heard of Louise de Keroualle. When I first picked up the book I wasn’t sure she was a real person until I looked on the interenet.

When I first started to read this book I nearly gave up but glad I didn’t. The reason being is that I found the first section was all about making ice cream and I felt really bogged down with all the repeatative descriptions. The story is told in two narratives, one by Carlo the ice cream maker and the other by Louise. For me this is when the story really picked up. For me the whole book could have been narrated by Louise. I did enjoy the rivalry between Nell and Louise.

This book was a quick and quite a nice easy read. What it has done has given me an itch to read more about Charles II and all his mistresses. Not that I will shy away from my beloved Tudors but just for a change give another king ago. ( )