A Treasury of Royal Scandals: The Shocking True Stories History's Wickedest, Weirdest, Most Wanton Kings, Queens, Tsars, Popes, and Emperors [Paperback]

Michael Farquhar (Author)

Book Description

Release date: May 1, 2001

From Nero's nagging mother (whom he found especially annoying after taking her as his lover) to Catherine's stable of studs (not of the equine variety), here is a wickedly delightful look at the most scandalous royal doings you never learned about in history class.

Gleeful, naughty, sometimes perverted-like so many of the crowned heads themselves-A Treasury of Royal Scandals presents the best (the worst?) of royal misbehavior through the ages. From ancient Rome to Edwardian England, from the lavish rooms of Versailles to the dankest corners of the Bastille, the great royals of Europe have excelled at savage parenting, deadly rivalry, pathological lust, and meeting death with the utmost indignity-or just very bad luck.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In another royal exposé, Farquhar, a writer at the Washington Post, duplicates some of the ground covered in Karl Shaw's Royal Babylon, such as Peter the Great's delight in administering torture (he had his son lashed to death) and the way Britain's Queen Mary cajoled her subjects into giving her their household treasures ("I am caressing it with my eyes," she would coyly coo). Written in a provocative tabloid style (with headings like "We Are Not Abused. We Are Abusive," "A Son Should Love His Mother, But..." and "All the Holiness Money Can Buy"), Farquhar publicly washes the dirty laundry of not only European royalty, but also of Roman emperors and popes. Murderers and torturers who slept with their siblings (and other relatives), the emperors of Rome excelled at corruption. The maniacal pedophile Tiberius Caesar (A.D. 14-37) left the corpses of his many victims to rot on the Gemonian Steps, which descended from the Capitol to the Forum, or alternatively enjoyed watching them being thrown from a cliff ("A contingent of soldiers was stationed below to whack them with oars and boat hooks just in case the fall failed to do the trick"). Many popes were no better. Not content with just rooting out Christian heretics by launching a bloody crusade against the Cathars in southern France, Innocent III (1160-1216) declared himself ruler of the world. He sacked Constantinople and massacred every Muslim he could find. Like Royal Babylon, this gossipy string of anecdotes is a popularized rather than an authoritative history and perfect for travel reading.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Designed for lovers of the curious and bizarre, this choice collection of true stories spans more than a millennium of European history. Farquhar includes the debauchery and cruelty of Roman Emperors like Tiberius and Caligula, the lusty personal life of Catherine the Great, and a number of the depraved popes who reigned between 800 and 1200. The author's anecdotal style creates a popularized tabloid history. A Treasury of Royal Scandals is entertaining and warns against the excesses of power as narrator Johnny Heller leads the listener on a roller coaster ride.
James Dudley, Westhampton, NY
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Books; (10) edition (May 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140280243
• ISBN-13: 978-0140280241
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.8 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (134 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #32,651 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #27 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Humor > Political
  • #45 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Ethnic & National > Irish
  • #67 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Leaders & Notable People > Royalty

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

66 of 70 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great fun! January 16, 2002

By Amazonbombshell

Format:Paperback

The subject is a bit shallow, perhaps, but Farquahar's writing is hilarious and you must admit, it's fun. His stories are well researched and accurate portrayals of some shocking, dirty, horrendous, and often VERY funny escapades in the lives of prominent European rulers down through the centuries. If you're not into European history, you'll read it quickly, enjoy the ride, and accidentally learn a lot along the way. If you are, you'll love the refreshingly funny writing style and unique focus (they don't tell you THAT in textbooks!), and you'll appreciate the detailed geneologies in the front and chronologies in the back that are an inestimable help in keeping straight the tangled branches of Europe's royal family trees.

40 of 43 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Lots of fun for royal watchers September 25, 2002

By Catherine S. Vodrey

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Michael Farquhar's "A Treasury of Royal Scandals" will delight inveterate royal watchers! As he sniffs in the introduction, he covers not the current crop of royals, as none of them have provided anything worthy of the title of "scandalous," but he goes in-depth to provide us with (as the book is subtitled) "shocking true stories of history's wickedest, weirdest, most wanton kings, queens, tsars, popes, and emperors."

Farquhar provides a handy family tree for major royal families at the beginning--it's most helpful when the scandals reach a dizzying pitch and you need to sort out which royal is plotting to overthrow/marry for money/murder which other royal. He debunks an awful lot of incorrect gossip (like the oft-told tale of Catherine the Great's predilection for beastiality) and comes up with wonderful gems of dirt that will be deliciously unfamiliar to most readers. This is not a scholarly work by any means--it's kind of like a historical PEOPLE magazine, focusing on the faux pas, the foibles, and the fevered doings of all sorts of royals throughout history. Great good fun!

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I loved this book! January 6, 2005

By Lady Bluestocking

Format:Paperback

As an avid European history buff, I enjoy reading about the "nasty little secrets" that weave in & out of history. This book certainly lived up to my expectation and more. I found it as a CD book in my local library and thoroughly enjoyed having it read to me. I had to buy the book. If you are at all familiar with European royalty in the 16th thru 20th (yes 20th! remember Edward the 8th and Wallis Simpson?) centuries then you will enjoy this book. I discovered that even though I was aware of the scandals covering about 3/4ths of this book, it was genuinely enjoyable to listen and then read about them in such a light and comical style.