Deliciously historical, with none of the dryness
“Sex With the Queen” is a follow up to Eleanor Herman’s last book, “Sex With Kings”, which I read late last year. If you’ve read her first book, you might find the first chapter or so of this one to be familiar as Herman gives a recap.
But in the following chapters, this book takes off and has a delicious life of it’s own. Now, I don’t know what your perception may be, given the title, but this book is not raunchy. The book is, first and foremost, historical, and Herman doesn’t take graphic liberties. What she gives you though, is a fascinating look into 900 years worth of sad, lonely queens who seek solace in men that are more interesting and often more sane than their husbands.
I love Herman’s style. She tells an engaging story and presents historical information without being dry. While she talks about many Queens throughout the book, she does a very good job telling the whole story. No bullet point facts here. Also, I think it’s an interesting look into what went on beyond the dates found in history textbooks. Her books help make history come alive, my only wish is that a timeline were included somewhere so that I could sort them out in my head a little better.
It’s amazing how royal lovers and mistresses have had an impact on history. This is something I had no idea of growing up. But some of these Kings were so incompetent or insane from genetic problems that the Queens ended up ruling the country with her lover. Or, just as often, the Queen ended up exiled, divorced, or beheaded for her adultery.
Herman’s books are very engaging. If you’ve got any interest at all in history, I’d highly recommend these.
9/10, just because at times, history gets a bit confusing. Though no fault of the author, there’s at least two Carolines, two Catherines and several Elizabeths. A timeline would really be an excellent addition here. Otherwise these books are very interesting.
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