Review of Sex with the Queen by Eleanor Herman

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Sex with the Queen: 900 Years of Vile Kings, Virile Lovers, and Passionate Politics by Eleanor Herman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book review is for Sex with the Queen: Nine Hundred Years of Vile Kings, Virile Lovers & Passionate Politics written by Eleanor Herman

This book made me cry and smile, laugh and clutch my chest in pain. The author's brilliant writing sparkled like well-plotted fiction. If I could rate this book 10 stars, I would.

I believe the 11 pages in the back of the book, where Mrs. Herman tells her tale of becoming an author, should be posted somewhere for all to read. What. A. Treasure. I ended the book, with a feeling of–wow! But it was her heartwarming, raucous story of her finally arriving on the New York Times Bestsellers List, that made me want to write this review. Those 11 pages explained every ounce of feeling I was forced to feel from a nonfiction book.

Mrs. Herman's passion and education combined with some serious research and artistic flair to effortlessly tell nearly 300 pages of biographical accounts, of some of history's most famous, sometimes infamous, and even some of the shunned & forced to be forgotten- women of the Royal courts… whose lives were ruled by sexual laws.

I bought this book because I wanted some juicy scandals to get my mind brainstorming for one of my stories (can you guess which one?). I had purchased others by other authors – and was not impressed. Online searches are tedious, and I stare at a computer too much as it is… so I wanted a book. “Please, let this be good,” I silently prayed before reading it… Just FYI, I IMMEDIATELY bought “Sex with Kings,” the moment I shut this one, closed. It was that GOOD, surpassing any expectations I had. Not only did I learn more than I ever wanted to know, but it emotionally affected me, as only few nonfiction books can.

The first three chapters discuss earlier queens, including Eleanor of Aquitaine (who the author claims a very distant relation to). These chapters paint a picture of Castle life and the standards expected to be followed. Then chapters four through eight covers the Royal women of the 17th to the 19th centuries, from England to Spain, to Russia, and every European country in between. Chapter nine is devoted to the late Princess Diana and her long and tragic, yet short-lived story.

I have had a long-standing fascination for Empress Elizabeth and her successor, Catherine the Great of Russia-- Mother Russia, where, until Catherine's son took over after her death, was ruled willingly without question or contempt, by men OR women – a fact I find incredibly fascinating…But it was the sad story of Sophia Dorothea that captured my soul. The forgotten broken Princess of Hanover's life was lived and ended in unfathomable pain. The attention Mrs. Howard pays to her memory is worthy of a princess with a Fairytale ending, even if that's not how it ended, at all.

To reach back in time and breathe life into the obscure figures of history, is a skill reserved for very few. How engaged modern students in history classes would be, if their textbooks were as rich and vibrant as “Sex with the Queen.” All scandals aside, the vivid details mixed with well-documented facts, pull the reader into a world long since gone but instantly come alive and real... This was beyond pleasurable to read, heartbreaking and devastating to experience…Honest, with raw emotions, this book honors the women who chose their own paths, despite society's norms and followed their hearts into uncharted waters. Bravo Eleanor Herman! Bravo! (Looking forward to experiencing “Sex with Kings”!)

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