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Completed	22 January 2005
Title	Restoration
Author	Rose Tremain
Published	1989
Quote	"Today, instead of walking round the tree, we are going to dance. Robert and Daniel will play and we are going to skip or gallop. What steps we do, what patterns we make, do not matter. We can dance in a square or in a circle or on his own like a dancing dot. Your Keepers, all of us, will dance with you. And now we are going to begin."
Review	The above quote describes the "great cure by dancing." The lead character, Merivel, finds himself (not as an inmate but as a "keeper", a director of sorts) in an "insane asylum" in rural seventeenth-century England. This "asylum" is not a proper hospital at all but rather a holding pen, where the loonies are sent. The inmates walk every day for health---both physical and mental health. Which is not such a bad idea and should be a lesson for all of us. (Isn't there something nice and refreshing about taking a walk in the park?) But, one day the "keepers" have this idea of dancing instead of walking. Musical instruments are produced and the inmates start dancing. To me, this is one of the most interesting scenes in the book as I am a big advocate of dancing. It doesn't surprise me that the mental patients (inmates) in the book are happier when dancing; they are free to move as they like, as the music moves them. It's great. And not rocket science. The rest of the book is fine. Not my favorite book, though, perhaps because I find the lead character, Merivel, pretty repulsive. He's just such a shallow jerk and a spend-thrift. When the king has him marry the king's mistress, just on paper, Merivel then comes into favor, of course, and finds himself with a great estate in the English countryside while his "wife" (the king's mistress) finds herself situated in a nice mistress-y home near the king's residence. Merivel spends all his money on silly things, and one thing leads to another until he finds himself broke and working as a "keeper" up in the rural insane asylum. Didn't anyone ever mention to him the value of saving for a rainy day? Sure, it's an interesting rags-to-riches-to-rags sort of tale. And, the images of seventeenth-century English life are interesting. Historically, it's not a period I know much about, so I do appreciate the little history lesson. And this is not to mention the costumes. This book first caught my attention, years ago, when my costume teacher in San Francisco advised us to watch the movie, Restoration. Apparently, the costumes are great in the movie. I have not yet seen the movie but intend to do so soon.

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