Customer Reviews

The Nympho and Other Maniacs

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Sadly out of print, "The Nympho and Other Maniacs" is more than just a sleazy look at historical tramps. If you can get your hands on a copy, ignore the stares and raised eyebrows. Irving Wallace looks at women who for whatever the reason were considered outside of the norm from their times.

Yes, females who exert their power through sex are discussed. Pauline Bonaparte and the courtesan known as Ninon are two examples. The imfamous ancestress of the former Ambassador Pamela Churchill Harriman, the Honorable Jane Digby and her adventures is a particularly interesting chapter, making the reader race for the biography section of the local bookstore or library to learn more about a women who enchanted men up until her death.

But sex is not the only mania covered. The latter chapters cover little remember figures such as Anne Royall (placed on trial for being a scold), Victoria Woodhull (the imfamous financial "wizard" who was accused of prostitution and ran for President before women had the vote) and the woman who spent her life trying to prove William Shakespeare was only a cover for writers such as Francis Bacon and William Spenser.

Once you'll finished "The Nympho and Other Maniacs", you'll be longing to find out even more about these intriguing women.

I have this book in my library and read it 3 times already. Being a woman I am interested in the lives of other women, especially famous ones who I can live thru surreptitiously only because Mr. Wallace is that good an author. Each life is well researched, but short and to mention a few Aspasia, Lais,Cleopatra, Heloise, Lady Hamilton,Claire Clairmont and Caroline Lamb. The title is deceiving because it is a factual history of these women not merely the author's opinion of a psychosis they had in common and I feel the writer used it to lure a portential buyer or reader as it did me. I only bought it after I skimmed thru it. He is, after all an author of many novels - not a psychiatrist. This volume is well written; a fascinating read and makes a reader want to learn more about these women and their contemporaries. I don't feel it got the credit it deserved when it was first published in 1971.ERIN MARIE SULLIVAN

I am seriously enjoying this book. What a ride! It's not as risqué as you might expect. Irving does a grand job at insinuating plenty. There was one paragraph that literally made me laugh loudly in the airport as I could not contain my giggles... I think it had something to do with a gynecologist and his concerns for his patient who had a propensity for enjoying a rather large-membered man. The book is thick, but it's a fast read. Highly recommended for open-minded, ambitious, and intellectual women who don't fit the modern day mold or female role.

This is an awesome book that talks about the role of sex and scandel throughout history and how women contribute to it. It takes an interesting view of the role of women and how some used their sexuality to gain statue and position in a very male dominated culture. I guess back then it was so infrequent it was considered scandelous...today infidelity is quite common.