Throughout the centuries, royal mistresses have been worshiped, feared, envied, and reviled. They set the fashions, encouraged the arts, and, in some cases, ruled nations. Eleanor Herman's Sex with Kings takes us into the throne rooms and bedrooms of Europe's most powerful monarchs. Alive with flamboyant characters, outrageous humor, and stirring poignancy, this glittering tale of passion and politics chronicles five hundred years of scintillating women and the kings who loved them.
Curiously, the main function of a royal mistress was not to provide the king with sex but with companionship. Forced to marry repulsive foreign princesses, kings sought solace with women of their own choice. And what women they were! From Madame de Pompadour, the famous mistress of Louis XV, who kept her position for nineteen years despite her frigidity, to modern-day Camilla Parker-Bowles, who usurped none other than the glamorous Diana, Princess of Wales.
The successful royal mistress made herself irreplaceable. She was ready to converse gaily with him when she was tired, make love until all hours when she was ill, and cater to his every whim. Wearing a mask of beaming delight over any and all discomforts, she was never to be exhausted, complaining, or grief-stricken.
True, financial rewards for services rendered were of royal proportions -- some royal mistresses earned up to $200 million in titles, pensions, jewels, and palaces. Some kings allowed their mistresses to exercise unlimited political power. But for all its grandeur, a royal court was a scorpion's nest of insatiable greed, unquenchable lust, and vicious ambition. Hundreds of beautiful women vied to unseat the royal mistress. Many would suffer the slings and arrows of negative public opinion, some met with tragic ends and were pensioned off to make room for younger women. But the royal mistress often had the last laugh, as she lived well and richly off the fruits of her "sins."
From the dawn of time, power has been a mighty aphrodisiac. With diaries, personal letters, and diplomatic dispatches, Eleanor Herman's trailblazing research reveals the dynamics of sex and power, rivalry and revenge, at the most brilliant courts of Europe. Wickedly witty and endlessly entertaining, Sex with Kings is a chapter of women's history that has remained unwritten -- until now.

Sex with Kings: 500 Years of Adultery, Power, Rivalry, and Revenge

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Herman, Eleanor

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In this follow-up to her bestselling Sex with Kings, Eleanor Herman reveals the truth about what goes on behind the closed door of a queen's boudoir. Impeccably researched, filled with page-turning romance, passion, and scandal, Sex with the Queen explores the scintillating sexual lives of some of our most beloved and infamous female rulers.
She was the queen, living in an opulent palace, wearing lavish gowns and dazzling jewels. She was envied, admired, and revered. She was also miserable, having been forced to marry a foreign prince sight unseen, a royal ogre who was sadistic, foaming at the mouth, physically repulsive, mentally incompetent, or sexually impotent—and in some cases all of the above.
How did queens find happiness? In courts bristling with testosterone—swashbuckling generals, polished courtiers, and virile cardinals—many royal women had love affairs.
<ul>
<li>Anne Boleyn flirted with courtiers; Catherine Howard slept with one. Henry VIII had both of them beheaded.</li>
<li>Catherine the Great had her idiot husband murdered, and ruled the Russian empire with a long list of sexy young favorites.</li>
<li>Marie Antoinette fell in love with the handsome Swedish count Axel Fersen, who tried valiantly to rescue her from the guillotine.</li>
<li>Empress Alexandra of Russia found emotional solace in the mad monk Rasputin. Her behavior was the spark that set off the firestorm of the Russian revolution.</li>
<li>Princess Diana gave up her palace bodyguard to enjoy countless love affairs, which tragically led to her early death.</li>
</ul>
When a queen became sick to death of her husband and took a lover, anything could happen—from disgrace and death to political victory. Some kings imprisoned erring wives for life; other monarchs obligingly named the queen's lover prime minister.
The crucial factor deciding the fate of an unfaithful queen was the love affair's implications in terms of power, money, and factional rivalry. At European courts, it was the politics—not the sex—that caused a royal woman's tragedy—or her ultimate triumph.

Sex with the Queen: 900 Years of Vile Kings, Virile Lovers, and Passionate Politics

In royal courts bristling with testosterone—swashbuckling generals, polished courtiers, and virile cardinals—how did repressed regal ladies find happiness? 
<ul>
<li>Anne Boleyn flirted with courtiers; Catherine Howard slept with one. Henry VIII had both of them beheaded.</li>
<li>Catherine the Great had her idiot husband murdered and ruled the Russian empire with a long list of sexy young favorites.</li>
<li>Marie Antoinette fell in love with the handsome Swedish count Axel Fersen, who tried valiantly to rescue her from the guillotine.</li>
<li>Princess Diana gave up her palace bodyguard to enjoy countless love affairs, which tragically led to her early death.</li>
</ul>
In this impeccably researched, scandalously readable follow-up to her New York Times bestseller Sex with Kings, Eleanor Herman reveals the truth about what has historically gone on behind the closed door of the queen's boudoir.

Sex with the Queen

In this follow-up to her bestselling Sex with Kings,Eleanor Herman reveals the truth about what goes on behind the closed door of a queen's boudoir. Impeccably researched, fi lled with pageturning romance, passion, and scandal, Sex with the Queen explores the scintillating sexual lives of some of our most beloved and infamous female rulers.She was the queen, envied and revered, but also miserable, forced to marry a foreign prince sight unseen—a royal ogre who was sadistic, repulsive, mentally incompetent, or sexually impotent—and in some cases all of the above. How did queens fi nd happiness? In courts bristling with testosterone, many royal women had love aff airs. When a queen took a lover, anything could happen—from disgrace and death to political victory. Some kings imprisoned erring wives for life; other monarchs named the queen's lover prime minister. At European courts, it was the politics, not the sex, that caused a royal woman's tragedy—or her ultimate triumph.

History

Europe

William Morrow Large Print

In this impeccably researched, scandalously readable follow-up to her New York Times bestseller Sex with Kings, Eleanor Herman reveals the truth about what has historically gone on behind the closed door of the queen's boudoir.

Eleanor Herman, the talented author of the New York Times bestselling Sex with Kings and Sex with the Queen goes behind the sacred doors of the Catholic Church in Mistress of the Vatican, a scintillating biography of a powerful yet little-known woman whose remarkable story is ripe with secrets, sex, passion, and ambition. For almost four centuries this astonishing story of a woman’s absolute power over the Vatican has been successfully buried—until now.

Mistress of the Vatican: The True Story of Olimpia Maidalchini: The Secret Female Pope

Historical

Born without a dowry, nearly forced into a convent, and later married off to a man she didn't love, Olimpia Maidalchini vowed never to be poor, powerless, or beholden to any man again. Instead, using her wits, Olimpia became the unofficial ruler of the most powerful institution in the world: the Roman Catholic Church. The Church firmly states that women must be excluded from church leadership positions—but for more than a decade in the seventeenth century, Olimpia ran the Vatican. As sister-in-law and reputed mistress of the indecisive Pope Innocent X, she appointed cardinals, negotiated with foreign ambassadors, and helped herself to a heaping portion of the Papal States' treasury. In Mistress of the Vatican, New York Times bestselling author Eleanor Herman brings to life not only an extraordinary woman lost in history but an entire civilization in all its greatness . . . and ignominy. This is the unforgettable story of a woman ahead of her time.

In this fascinating work of popular history, the New York Times bestselling author of Sex with Kings and The Royal Art of Poison uncovers the bedroom secrets of American presidents and explores the surprising ways voters have reacted to their leaders' sex scandals. While Americans have a reputation for being strait-laced, many of the nation's leaders have been anything but puritanical. Alexander Hamilton had a steamy affair with a blackmailing prostitute. John F. Kennedy swam nude with female staff in the White House swimming pool. Is it possible the qualities needed to run for president--narcissism, a thirst for power, a desire for importance--go hand in hand with a tendency to sexual misdoing In this entertaining and eye-opening book, Eleanor Herman revisits some of the sex scandals that have rocked the nation's capital and shocked the public, while asking the provocative questions: does rampant adultery show a lack of character or the stamina needed to run the country Or perhaps both While Americans have judged their leaders' affairs harshly compared to other nations, did they mostly just hate being lied to And do they now clearly care more about issues other than a politician's sex life What is sex like with the most powerful man in the world Is it better than with your average Joe And when America finally elects a female president, will she, too, have sexual escapades in the Oval Office

Sex with Presidents: The Ins and Outs of Love and Lust in the White House

Americas

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Herman, Eleanor. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Herman, Eleanor

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Herman, Eleanor. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Sex with Kings: 500 Years of Adultery, Power, Rivalry, and Revenge

Sex with Kings: 500 Years of Adultery, Power, Rivalry, and Revenge

Sex with the Queen: 900 Years of Vile Kings, Virile Lovers, and Passionate Politics

Sex with the Queen: 900 Years of Vile Kings, Virile Lovers, and Passionate Politics

Sex with the Queen

Sex with the Queen

Mistress of the Vatican: The True Story of Olimpia Maidalchini: The Secret Female Pope

Mistress of the Vatican: The True Story of Olimpia Maidalchini: The Secret Female Pope

Mistress of the Vatican: The True Story of Olimpia Maidalchini: The Secret Female Pope

Sex with Presidents: The Ins and Outs of Love and Lust in the White House