Sex with kings: 500 years of adultery, power, rivalry, and revengeBy Eleanor Herman
Edition: illustrated
Published by HarperCollins, 2004
ISBN 0060585439, 9780060585433
287 pages
I pretty much said it all in Elanor Herman's other book, Sex with Queens. The first is regal women taking lovers, this is the other side regal men taking lovers.
This was Herman's first book, and it's clear her writing has matured in her second book. In this book she's still struggling to find her niche point of view. I would have to say that her second book is the better read, However both are interesting and easy to follow.
I did have to consult a royalty of Europe family tree online, to keep track of who was whose sister, bastard or mistress. Inbreeding was all the rage, no wonder by the Tudor period half of them are insane. Mistresses were allowed to clean out the Treasury and in some cases run the country, even after they stopped sleeping with the king in one case (You'll have to read the book to find out watch french lady got away with this). All in all a good read.
Two and Three Quarter Stars.
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