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506 ratings, 3.52 average rating, 140 reviews
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published
2004
by HarperCollins
binding
Paperback
isbn
0965918556
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 802)
Read in September, 2007
For whatever reason, this is an excellent book to read aloud to a friend (or, i suppose, to yourself). What I learned was that, back in the day, the fundamental order of operations, in terms of position went a little something like this:
pope
king
mistress at her peak
...
bastard son of king
legit son of king
...
sack of shit
...
mistress at all other times
queen
sack of shit on fire
pope
king
mistress at her peak
...
bastard son of king
legit son of king
...
sack of shit
...
mistress at all other times
queen
sack of shit on fire
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Read in November, 2008
recommends it for:
fans of romantic and historical fiction, fans of royalty, nobility and scandal
Okay, well this is a saucy book. It certainly details most aspects of the mistress/queen/king dynamic. And being a royal mistress was good while it was good, but it was hardly a life to envy.
Yes, it was considered an honor to be chosen. It came with riches, power and a shot at (occasionally) being queen. It also came with venereal disease, bastard children, crushing poverty and a pit of vipers known as the royal court.
Mistresses were not always beautiful, or thing. H...more
Yes, it was considered an honor to be chosen. It came with riches, power and a shot at (occasionally) being queen. It also came with venereal disease, bastard children, crushing poverty and a pit of vipers known as the royal court.
Mistresses were not always beautiful, or thing. H...more
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4 comments
Read in January, 2006
Although the topic was very interesting, the organization of this book completely killed it. Herman jumps around from one royal mistress to the next, and it became very difficult to follow who was who - I found myself flipping back to earlier chapters to see who she was talking about. I really wanted to enjoy this book, but I couldn't even finish it. With a good editor and some chronological organization, it has potential to be really interesting stuff. As it is, it's only poorly written, un...more
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3 comments
I picked up this book a few years ago because of an article in the magazine Mental Floss , and enjoyed it as a light and somewhat fluff read. I just reread it and remember that there are some large problems with it. The organization is really awful, the chapters pretend to be about large categories but are conversational and don't seem to be held together much. The author skips from anecdotes about one mistress to anecdotes about a mistress from hundreds of years previously, in fact, all of the...more
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Okay, so I took this class called "Scripture as Literature" in college, and I was just barely BARELY thinking all about it because I mentioned it in a review of another book I just added.
In that class, we read the bible strictly as a piece of literature. My professor was really cool. Very interesting. AND, the one thing I remember most (next to all the sex mentioned in Song of Solomon) was how all the women in the scriptures actually ran the show, even though the men seemed...more
In that class, we read the bible strictly as a piece of literature. My professor was really cool. Very interesting. AND, the one thing I remember most (next to all the sex mentioned in Song of Solomon) was how all the women in the scriptures actually ran the show, even though the men seemed...more
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Read in January, 2007
I expected "Sex with Kings" to be more along the lines of books by Michael Farquhar and his "Treasury of..." series--fun and gossipy sketches of historical but colorful characters.
Unfortunately, the book is somewhat disjointed and in need of sharper editing. When she isn't jumping around, the author is often repeating cliched phrases. It's too bad that what could be such an interesting subject is rendered somewhat tedious. I had trouble finishing it.
I...more
Unfortunately, the book is somewhat disjointed and in need of sharper editing. When she isn't jumping around, the author is often repeating cliched phrases. It's too bad that what could be such an interesting subject is rendered somewhat tedious. I had trouble finishing it.
I...more
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Read in August, 2008
I had mixed feelings about this book. On the plus side, it's a fascinating read, giving a perspective on history that we don't often get. It's also laugh out loud funny in a lot of places.
On the minus side, the author has a couple of quirks that I found slightly irritating. One is that she's constantly beginning sections of the book with passages like, "We imagine that the life of a royal mistress must have been glamorous, full of <blah, blah, blah, insert long descriptions ...more
On the minus side, the author has a couple of quirks that I found slightly irritating. One is that she's constantly beginning sections of the book with passages like, "We imagine that the life of a royal mistress must have been glamorous, full of <blah, blah, blah, insert long descriptions ...more
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Though I was looking forward to reading this book, I have to confess that I found it a bit tedious after the first fifty pages or so. It's not that it wasn't fun to learn about the scandals that rocked European courts or the crazy tactics some mistresses employed to keep kings under their spells, including black magic in one instance. Those were all quite fascinating and unexpected, to say the least. However, much of the book felt repetitive to me. I honestly didn't care about what fine furs or ...more
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Read in March, 2008
I love historical biographies and period pieces but this author is so random with narration. This is a very interesting book and would absorb you into the lives of kings and queens of history if the author would have subdivided the chapters and told each king's stories separately and continuously but instead it is a very muddled narration of the sex lives of several royal mistresses and I am having a hard time remembering who belongs to whom. It is difficult to follow various names and their ass...more
Read in December, 2008
recommends it for:
non-fiction readers, anyone interested in "real" royal life
This book was very interesting, very entertaining and even educational. I'm sure I won't remember half the names or facts in the book, but the theme (the influence mistresses and affairs had on royal life throughout the ages) will definitely stick with me. As someone who does not usually enjoy non-fiction, this was definitely one I'm glad I started.
As the author says, we all have this preconceived notion of royal mistresses; beautiful young women falling in love with kings and bein...more
As the author says, we all have this preconceived notion of royal mistresses; beautiful young women falling in love with kings and bein...more
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Read in March, 2006
The silly title and even sillier author photo nearly obscure the rather interesting bit of women’s history inside. It was not a surprise to learn that most (if not all) kings married for political alliances rather than looks or love. Neither was it a surprise to learn that most of them had mistresses. But it was interesting to find out just how much power some of these mistresses possessed. Many of them continued to serve as advisors and companions long after the sexual relationship with t...more
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Ironically, not about sex! It focuses on the role of the mistress in history -- not merely as a sexual plaything, but as a companion to the King, a political ally to the Queen, spy, manipulator, power behind the throne, decoration, and a dozen other roles. This is one of my favorite books about history. My father borrowed it a few weeks ago, and he really enjoyed it, too.
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Read in September, 2008
Although this book has inspired me to read further on the subject, it was organized so haphazardly that I didn't bother to finish. I was half-way through when I realized that I had the names of people I was interested in reading more about, but I had next to no idea about their actual lives and was unlikely to glean more from Herman's writing. I also didn't appreciate the author's flights of fancy, which introduced most of the chapters with variations on "Let us picture the royal mistress.....more
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Read in June, 2008
I am sad to let this one go; I had fun reading it and learned a lot.
Unlike other reviewers, I did not mind the author's jumping from mistress to mistress in her narration. It livened up the read considerably and prevented the book from reading like a biography. Furthermore, I enjoyed leaving one relationship for a while and returning later for more. All in all I feel that this technique creates a sense of connection between all of these mistresses and that the reader is invited to...more
Unlike other reviewers, I did not mind the author's jumping from mistress to mistress in her narration. It livened up the read considerably and prevented the book from reading like a biography. Furthermore, I enjoyed leaving one relationship for a while and returning later for more. All in all I feel that this technique creates a sense of connection between all of these mistresses and that the reader is invited to...more
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Hmmm...I wonder how you research this? Are there journal entries by people who had sex with kings? I don't think I have written any explicit or descriptive entries in my journal that could be used for this purpose. Also, I have never done it with a king.
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I read this one about the same time last year and was really intrigued with how women could be so easily regarded and disregarded. The history and names of Kings and their dirty laundry and who knew what was detailed.
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If you ever wondered what all those mistresses had that the Queen didn't (and vice versa), here it is. Truly interesting and somewhat frightening to see the positions women put themselves in.
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I began reading this book twice: the first time, I only completed a few chapters. The second time, I made it past 100 pages and still had to give it up.
The other reviewers that commented on the muddled organization and lack of focus in the book are spot on. This could have been a much more enjoyable book had it not skipped around and doubled back so much to tell additional stories about each king, queen and accompanying mistress.
I feel that I have learned more about the...more
The other reviewers that commented on the muddled organization and lack of focus in the book are spot on. This could have been a much more enjoyable book had it not skipped around and doubled back so much to tell additional stories about each king, queen and accompanying mistress.
I feel that I have learned more about the...more
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A curiosity I found in Sara's library while visiting her a few days ago. Very entertaining, historically accurate and easy to read while traveling.
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Read in December, 2007
Self-indulgent, ridiculously repetitive and very muddled. I read her second book, Sex With Queens, first, which was much better. This one seemed like it would be in chronological order through the centuries, as the other was, but it was in no real order at all. Each randomly themed chapter, she kept talking about the same six mistresses over and over again, adding in parts of their stories she didn't tell you the first time around. She makes it very confusing and difficult to keep track of the c...more
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