Sex With Kings (2004)

I thought this was a fun read, and actually learned a thing or two in the process, but I cannot for the life of me figure out how this darn thing was supposed to be organized. I felt like it kept jumping back and forth through history, and that was kind of jarring. I guess I wanted it to be more chronological, or at least for everything about a particular person to be in one place instead of scattered throughout the book. ( )

Really enjoyed the book. Excellent historical accounts that you wouldn't find in history books. The only thing I didn't like about it is the author mainly writes about a few mistresses, probably because they are so well-known. It would be interesting to read about less famous ones as well, instead of returning to the same ones over and over again. But overall, a really good read. ( )

Herman's second book (Sex With the Queen) calls her a historian, and, as the daughter of a historian, that really gets up my nose. She doesn't do primary research. She isn't buried in ancient archives written in medieval languages, nor does she even cite translations of those documents. She compiles bits and pieces from books that other people have written about royalty. She's no Alison Weir.

Nor would even a self-respecting journalist take up her habit of assigning emotions and thoughts to people who lived so long ago: things like "we can imagine she must have thought...." or, worse, simply stating a person had certain thoughts when there's no evidence to prove it, is sloppy writing at best; for Herman, it's a bad habit, and one prone to misinform her readers.

I appreciated that Herman reminded us about the prevalence of bad smells, poor personal hygiene, sewage, cold, vermin, and other plagues of any life, even royal, in past eras, but she seems to have a hard time keeping that kind of realism in focus.

But that's not the kind of book this is. This is a fun read. It's dish not much different than a Kitty Kelley book about Princess Diana, but with a little more history and a little less guilt since the protagonists are so long gone. It's interesting, for sure, to read stories (the basics of which I think are generally correct) about royal mistresses and the negotiations and scandals, as well as the political intrigues, at royal courts through the centuries. I did learn something; for example, that "royal mistress" could be an almost official position; and simply about a lot of people I'd not have heard of otherwise.

Herman's strength is in pulling together variations on her general topic (sexual scandal and intrigue embroiling kings) to highlight certain themes and convey some general truths about long- ago times, all the while keeping her subjects human and accessible. It was a fast and addictive read. But, except when I had some prior knowledge of the history and people being discussed, because of her overdramatic writing habits I never fully felt that I could trust in the truth of the stories told. They became something in between real history and fairy tale.

On a somewhat more personal note, as a parent to young children, I found one story in the middle of the book extremely upsetting. I had to stop reading it for a while and, though I eventually finished, it ruined the light experience of the book for me and ensured I would never read it again. I am pretty sensitive so that might just be my problem, but although the story was relevant to the book, I found the level of detail too dark and awful. In general Herman does not strike me as sympathetic to the often hapless children who resulted from both royal marriages and affairs, in contrast to the royals themselves whose thoughts and feelings she so frequently describes.

But I'm giving it three and a half stars because there's definitely a place in my world for the light read, and it was good enough that I'm now reading the "sequel". ( )

Excellent read. Herman focuses on the heyday of the royal mistress (17th and 18th centuries) with some forays into more modern times. Tantalizing but not vulgar, she explores the everyday life and eventual fates of the world's most famous courtesans: Madame Pompadour, Nell Gwyn, Lady Castlemaine, and Lola Montez, to name a few.

Well paced and well organized. A definite must-read for quirky history readers. ( )

I really enjoyed this book, I thought it would be hard to get into but as soon as I picked it up I couldn't put it down. What made the book a little easier to read was that the author kept referring to more or less the same people so it was easy to follow and I didn't feel like I was just reading a list of names over and over. The author added into the stories her own wit and personality that made for a really funny and interesting read. ( )