Rakes and Rogues of the Restoration Books in Order

Judith James's Rakes and Rogues of the Restoration is a connected set of historical romances set in and around Restoration England. The books are linked less by one continuing plot than by a shared world, a violent recent past, and a cast of men and women trying to rebuild their lives after civil war. Think courtiers, soldiers, spies, highwaymen, and people who know that charm can be as useful as a sword.

Libertine's Kiss opens the series with William de Veres, a military hero and notorious rake, and Elizabeth Walters, a widowed Puritan woman marked by loss. Their story moves between private longing and public change as Charles II returns to power and the court begins to glitter again. That first book sets the tone for the series: sensual romance, strong historical atmosphere, and characters whose emotional damage matters as much as the external plot.

Then the canvas widens.

In Soldier of Fortune: The King's Courtesan, the focus shifts to Captain Robert Nichols and Hope Mathews, one of the king's mistresses. The romance grows out of coercion and political pressure rather than easy attraction, which tells you a lot about what this series likes to do. These are not neat drawing-room stories. Power, class, reputation, and survival are always in the room with the couple, and the court of Charles II can feel both playful and brutal at the same time.

By the time you reach The Highwayman, the series has moved to the roads and inns of 1680 England. Jack Nevison, based on the real Swift Nick, meets bold traveler Arabella Hamilton, a heroine inspired by the real-life traveler Celia Fiennes. The setting opens up, but the series still keeps its favorite concerns close: independence, reinvention, danger, and the question of whether two people from very different worlds can make a life together.

Across the books, the through line is not a mystery to be solved or a war to be won. It is the slow work of trust. James likes wounded, complicated leads, people shaped by abandonment, violence, political chaos, or social vulnerability. She also likes putting them in motion. Expect travel, shifting loyalties, real historical figures at the edges of the story, and a fair amount of wit mixed in with the ache.

These books can stand alone, but they do reward reading in order. Side characters return, relationships deepen, and the larger picture of Restoration society gets richer from one novel to the next. If you want historical romance with court intrigue, strong adventure elements, and characters who have to earn their happy endings, this series is a very good place to start.