Sunday, May 29, 2011

Mailbox Monday

Sex with Kings : 500 Years of Adultery, Power, Rivalry, and Revenge (P.S.)Sex with Kings : 500 Years of Adultery, Power, Rivalry, and Revenge (P.S.) Eleanor Herman

"When kings marry foreign strangers for dynastic or financial reasons and queens are trained in piety over sensuality, royal mistresses seem an inevitability. Kings had flings and extramarital relationships through much of European history, and in her first book, Herman offers, with relish and dry wit, a delightful overview of their sexual escapades. Her subjects are international, though France dominates and England gets a strong showing. It's a lively account, organized by topic e.g., "The Fruits of Sin—Royal Bastards." Herman weaves into a larger pattern the tales of recurrent figures, such as Louis XIV's mistress Athénaïs de Montespan and Madame de Pompadour, who is perhaps more famous than her royal lover, Louis XV. Fashions, love potions and cheerful conversation kept kings enthralled while mistresses made themselves wealthy, husbands acquiesced or simmered, courtiers wooed the mistresses and the public admired or ridiculed. A striking number of these relationships continued despite arguments and even the lack of sex. George II even felt it necessary to keep a mistress for his reputation despite actually loving his wife. Herman ends on a modern note, recounting how Camilla Parker-Bowles famously introduced herself to Prince Charles by noting that her great-grandmother had been his great-great-grandfather's mistress. Herman ends on a serious note, but her wit and perceptiveness will carry readers through this royally pleasurable romp".

~Lizzy~

6 comments:

  1. I had no idea this book was reached into current royal families! Hope you enjoy this one :)

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  2. You know I have wanted this book for awhile now. I read Sex with the Queen by the same author and enjoyed the book.

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  3. Svea, I had no idea either until it showed up. I got it from paperbackswap.com it has been on my wish list for some time. I have gathered so many other readers enjoyed it which means I would love it too.

    Heather, there are numerous prints of it too. I think I found like 3 versions in paperback. You so should sign up for paperbackswap then it would get you this one pretty easily. The Georgette Heyer's one have been hard on there though.

    Mystica, I thought so too plus I love the cover scandalous but just enough not to be nasty LOL.

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  4. Oh I have that one too! Hope you enjoy it Lizzy!

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  5. Amy, it is nice to add to the non-fiction stack. I hope to get to it eventually.

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