Customer Reviews

Sex with the Queen: 900 Years of Vile Kings, Virile Lovers, and Passionate Politics (P.S.)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

At last year's Renaissance Faire, my mother heard a woman talking about her forthcoming book, "Sex With The Queen." Since I adored Eleanor Herman's "Sex With Kings," I spent a good ten minutes jumping around because she hadn't told me at the Faire, and then settled down to wait for the second book of royal love lives.

And Herman does not disappoint in "Sex with the Queen: 900 years of Vile Kings, Virile Lovers and Passionate Politics." Without being biased one way or another, Herman explores centuries of queens who did the same as their kings, sometimes with tragic results. It's a juicy, scholarly book -- and that is not a contradiction.

Most European queens were raised to be chaste, demure and obedient, in the image of the Virgin Mary. They generally married young, knew nothing of sex or pregnancy, and were expected to spawn lots of kids. But some of these queens weren't content to just sit and embroider -- they ran straight into the arms of hot courtiers.

Some of these queens had mad or impotent husbands, and some were married to gay nobles -- one nobleman was overjoyed when his wife had an illegitimate child, which saved him from having to sleep with her. One or two (like Elizabeth I) never wed at all, leaving rumors of lovers and illegitimate children. They slept with warriors, peasants, priests, and other nobles, sometimes with tragic results -- and sometimes not.

There's Elizabeth I, the unwed queen with lots of weird rumours; the lusty Cathering the Great, who lusted after many men, but only really loved one; Queen Matilda, whose lover (not her poor mad husband) ruled her country; Queen Victoria's relationship with her Scottish groom; the flirtatious wives of Henry VIII; Czarina Alexandra and her diabolic lover Rasputin, and the ill-fated Princess Diana.

Just as she explored the royal mistresses in "Sex with Kings," Eleanor Herman provides some insights into how the queens of Europe lived and loved. It's a fun, juicy read (that title says a lot), but also shows us a part of Europe's royalty that usually doesn't get much attention.

Herman also studies the role of the queens in society, the public perception of them, and why it was a bigger deal if they slept around than if the king did. Sexism isn't all to blame, as Herman reminds us. Similarly, she is fair to all the queens and kings, never going out of her way to justify anyone's behavior, but not condemning anyone unfairly either. Actually, some of the royal hubbies were absolutely delighted that their wives found comfort and/or sex elsewhere.

Her writing style strikes a good balance between slightly wry conversation and scholarly insights, with lots of historical details that add a lot of dimension to these illicit romances. It's a bit like trading gossip with a good pal, who has all the dirty laundry from the royal bedroom. Very fun, and it often offers insight into the lives of the pampered, lonely royals.

"Sex with the Queen" is an equally excellent follow-up to Herman's debut, and a delicious historical study. Absolutely one of 2006's must-reads.

I have to say, this book was definitely an enjoyable read. When it got to the sections on princesses whose stories I know, however, I realized that everything leading up to that last chapter would have to be taken with a grain of salt, because the sheer volume of inaccuracies in just those two stories was incredible. I am curious as to where she found the resources she had to use to compile this book. The last chapter only discussed Empress Alexandra of Russia and Princess Diana. Being an avid fan of Russian history whose particular interest lies in that last bunch of Romanovs, I know that it has never been proven that Rasputin was Alexandra's lover (among the other "facts" presented). Ms. Herman obviously didn't get her research from any of the reputable historians, such as Nicholas Massie and Edward Radzinsky. And where on Earth did she get all of those "facts" about Princess Di? Of course the woman couldn't have been the saint she was made out to be. But a manipulative, love-starved, nymphomaniac b*tch? Probably even the queen would have a problem reconciling herself to that description. I actually had to stop reading there because, after all, the poor woman is dead thanks to people like Eleanor Herman, who comes off as nothing more than overzealous paparazzi in her version of Diana's life. With both women, she states assumptions and lies with such conviction that one has to wonder if being the "granddaughter 28 times removed of Eleanore of Aquitaine", and being "related to most of the royal families of Europe" isn't enough for her, and she's jealous of those who actually did get to live a royal life.

Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy this book - up until the crucifixions in the last chapter. It's well written and one can hope that not every princess in this book is so cruelly slandered, and that there might be some truth in the stories of Sophia Dorothea and Catherine the Great (my interest in the Romanov's doesn't go back that far, so I don't know what liberties were taken with Catherine and Elizabeth's stories). Ms. Herman is indeed talented, but maybe those talents would be better put to use writing historical fiction because she sure does seem to have a flair for making up stories.

More than the scandalous relationships of royal women, this delightful book offers insight into the often dreary lives of royal wombs. No wonder queens looked beyond their impotent, idiot kings for some kind of life. They risked everything in the exciting and dangerous game and lost more than they won. Great read, great insight and wonderfully written.

Unbelievably readable. Fascinating findings and conclusions. Many take-aways for men and women on how to co-manage the powers of sex and politics. Impeccable research and story-telling combined. Herman will certainly become one of this Century's great writers on women's history!

MJD April 2006

Ms. Herman captures the tone of this book perfectly -- whimsically recounting the intrigues, romances, love and horror stories over 900 years of Royal contretemps, across the imperial courts of Spain, Europe, England and Russia.

I found this book to be thoroughly enjoyable -- a quick, engaging, and carefully researched look at the sometimes incredible lives of the royals. The queens had their work cut out for them, what with various impediments, sexual and otherwise, placed in their way to a fulfilling love life. These kings were a bunch of losers, for the most part, though the queens weren't always so hot either.

Eurocentric, of course. Titilating, sure. Accurate, not so much. Needed a fact-checker (editor should have cought some more obvious errors) and it seems to me that the author puts a 21st century filter on what she reports.
For instance, she talks of 'mounds of flesh' on plump women as though it were repulsive in a time when we can see from the protraits done of women celebrated for their beauty that beauty often came in soft packages.
Not really done from the feminist perspective and not as accurate as i'd like, but it passed the time on public transportation and for that I'm grateful.

This is a delicious and oftentimes informative read. However, the back of the paperback edition deems the book "impeccably researched." I think any serious scholar, to put it nicely, would disagree in the extreme with that statement. I was expecting new revelations and information, but the author only puts together a hodgepodge of stories compiled from secondary sources--many of which were based on speculation and rumor themselves. That said, the book overall does not disappoint in entertainment value. Some readers loyal to Princess Diana wil be taken aback by Herman's harsh portrayal of the Princess as a manipulative, mentally unstable wolf in sheep's clothing. One nice feature is the PS section at the back of the book, which has a lot about Herman's journey to becoming a best-selling author. Aspiring writers will enjoy the PS addition to the author's work.

I sometimes wish that Amazon rated on a scale of 10 instead of 5--this is a better-than-3-star book. The book is truly a compendium of the triumphs and tragedies of women in high places for nine hundred years, and it's a romp to read. (It's also a better, and more sympathetic, book than Herman's first effortSex with Kings: 500 Years of Adultery, Power, Rivalry, and Revenge (P.S.)--better organized, and more accurate.) Ms. Herman's preferences for some royal ladies over others is very clear, though that is not a terrible flaw. My main problem with the book is expressed in the certainty of the captions of the many beautiful portraits reprinted in the book--there is some doubt that Marie Antoinette and Count Fersen were actually intimate, and very much doubt that Empress Alexandra ever slept with Rasputin--not that Rasputin wouldn't have tried. Certainly many believe as Ms. Herman does, including many of the subjects of these two queens, but I would have preferred it if she had presented both sides of the case, and let us decide. Nevertheless, especially if it whets your interest in history, royal or otherwise, this is a truly entertaining read.

PS I am curious about the choice of cover art for "Queen" versus that for "Sex with Kings"--why a lovely scantily clad lady on BOTH? Perhaps we would be seeing a more "feminist" work if the cover of "Queen" had featured an analagous male figure!

I really enjoyed Herman's other book, Sex with Kings, and this one is just as enjoyable but with a feminist twist. Very easy to read and very informative. Highly recommended.

While any book about adultery of nobles is bound to contain some entirely fictitious items we all assume to be true (c'mon, a lot of it is ANCIENT gossip!) I was a bit disappointed to see this book sink into more than a few discredited theories of infidelity regarding more than one Queen. I give three stars for the writing (quite entertaining,) 5 stars for the subject matter (again, hello - interesting,) but 1 star for accuracy. :P If you like giggling over rumors of the past, this is for you - it may offend the more serious reader of history (well, perhaps the title would stop you dead there, anyhow,) so...not for anyone who knows history well and doesn't want at least 5 eye-rolling moments where you can't believe someone actually put that in a book published within the last 5 (or 25, or 50 for that matter,) years... Sort of like saying Marie Antoinette said "Let them eat cake," which SHE never said, its full of some rather ridiculous and long-discredited theories with the good juicy gossip. Get it used, and have a laugh...recommended for entertainment purposes only. ;)