This book is a visually stunning compilation of fourteen
real love stories of the royals through out Europe. Many of the stories
mentioned had tragic ends but not all of them. The book includes sections on:
Peter I of Portugal, Ines de Castro, Shah Jahan, Mumtaz Mahal, Catherine the
Great, Gregory Potemkin, Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, Napoleon Bonaparte,
Josephine de Beauharnais, Ludwig I of Bavaria, Lola Montez, Victor Emmanuel II,
Rosa Vercellana, Rudolph Crown Prince of Austria, Baroness Mary Vetsera,
Nicholas of Russia, Alexandria, Edward VII, Wallis Simpson, Prince Bertilof of Sweden,
Lilian Craig, Prince Rainier III, Grace Kelly, King Hussein of Jordan, Lisa
Halaby, Prince William, and Catherine Middleton.
My favorite of the love stories was Shah Jahan and Mumtaz
Mahal. In a time where rulers had numerous wives, I found their love unique and
truly moving. Shah Jahan loved his wife dearly and he literally could not spend
a day with out her. She even went to battle with him pregnant and when she died
he spent his final years building the Taj Mahal for her mausoleum. His plan was
to build one for each of them but his son took over the throne and locked him
away before he could start his own mausoleum.
5/5 Visually stunning, this non-fiction work is detailed
with pictures and facts about the era of the story mentioned. I picked up this
lovely book from Barnes and Noble in the bargain book section for 10$. I
absolutely could not pass up this one because Grace Kelly is drop dead gorgeous
on the cover. I would highly recommend this book to history lovers across the
board because it is visually stimulating and is a great addition to any
library.
PG – 13 Rating for mild mentions of sex and violence.
Sounds a book you'd like to go back to again and again over the years.
ReplyDeleteI agree it is a beautiful book. Happy reading Mystica
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