Joseph Conrad and the Swan Song of Romance Book

I'll be honest, here: I LIKE boys. By 'boys,' however, I truly mean 'men,' so let there be no misunderstanding, but sometimes I prefer to refer to the bad ones as 'boys' as in the old standby, "bad boys." There is something about bad boys that redeems them, and in spite of everything bad about the subject of James William Johnson's biography of the Earl of Rochester, there is good, too.

This was a case of movie-sparks-an-interest-in-true-story, and after catching Johnny Depp's performance in The Libertine, my curiosity was piqued. Just who was this earl, and was he truly as bad as what Depp depicts him? While A Profane Wit sometimes reads like a textbook -- lots of history, and the spark must come from the student -- the history was necessary, or at least for this student, me. So little I know of the period of Charles II, aside from what we do get from our textbooks or coursework, or a film here and there.

Enjoyed A Profane Wit as much, or more, than what Depp even portrayed in the film, largely in part because I always find myself rallying for an underdog, and the Earl of Rochester, in spite of his wealth and position, was an underdog -- if only to the rank of his King, Charles II. But, the earl accomplishes much, if only in getting across that while he may be 'bad,' he does have revealing qualities, the least of which is hardly that he is brilliant. He is. This Libertine thinks circles around the circles into which his class and station often confine him.

For the history buff, a good read. For the women who like 'bad boys,' a great read.