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 … 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.
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A Treasury of Royal Scandals: The Shocking True Stories of History’s Wickedest, Weirdest, Most Wanton Kings, Queens, Tsars, Popes, and Emperors, Michael Farquhar, 2001
My favorite quote: “The rigid, repressed [Queen] Victoria was never a particularly cozy mum, candidly acknowledging early on that she derived ‘no especial pleasure or compensation’ from her large brood of children. Even when they were babies, Victoria regarded them as distasteful little creatures. ‘I have no tendre for them,’ she once remarked, ‘til they have become a little human; an ugly baby is a very nasty object … and the prettiest is frightful when undressed … as long as they have their big body and little limbs and that terrible frog-like action.’”
Notable characters: Napoleon Bonaparte, Nero, Marie Antionette, Caligula, Tiberius Caesar … and so many more …
Most memorable scene: I always go back to the Russian marriage that was consummated on a bed of ice
Greatest strengths: It’s tabloid-like ability to suck you into its tawdry snare …
Standout achievements: Well, it certainly isn’t your typical dry, boring history lesson
Fun Facts: The author, Michael Farquhar is a former writer and editor at The Washington Post and has several other books along the lines of Royal Scandals, including A Treasury of Great American Scandals, Behind the Palace Doors, and Secret Lives of the Tsars
Other media: N/A
What it taught me about writing: I’m not sure what it taught me about writing, but I was surprised to learn how inbred the royals were …
How it inspired my own work: The death of one of the “Exterminators” in my novel, The Black Wasp, was inspired by the assassination of Mary, Queen of Scots, as described in this book
Additional thoughts: You’ll laugh, you’ll gasp, you’ll be glad we’ve evolved as a society … or have we?
My rating: 4 of 5
Haunt me: alistaircross.com
So much fun to read the real life stuff.
This was a fun read. I was familiar with some of these scandals from history, but there were a lot of new ones, too. I teach middle school kids history, so I can use a lot of these to spice up my classes for those that complain “History is boring!”
If you’re looking for historical gossip – this is the book. Lot’s of juicy tidbits about monarchs and more.
Not what I thought it would be.
While I kept reading this book to the end hoping to find a redeeming thread to justify the time I spent on it, the book was very disappointing. While many historical books only focus on the positive accomplishments, this book was the complete opposite, listing only the leaders horrifying actions. Other than the family lineages, there was very little other historical background to help readers understand what was happening in history during the leaders’ time in power.
Boring after the beginning chapters as the scenarios repeated over and over again.
I did not like that book at all
It’s history light. But still informative and well-written. Makes you want to read more about it’s characters.
Significantly disjointed and repeats a lot
Written like a sensational tabloid.