"Royal Affairs....A Lusty Romp Through The Extramarital Adventures That Rocked The British Monarchy....Insatiable Kings....Lecherous Queens....Kissing Cousins....Wanton Consorts
Royal unions have always been the stuff of scintillating gossip, from the passionate Plantagenets to Henry VIII's alarming head count of wives and mistresses, to the Sapphic crushes of Mary and Anne Stuart, right on up to the scandal-blighted coupling of Prince Charles and Princess Diana. Shoved into loveless arranged marriages for political and economic gain, many royals were driven to seek their pleasures outside the marital bed, engaging in delicious flirtations, lurid love letters, ad rampant sex with voluptuous and willing paramours.
This nearly pathological lust made for some of the most titillating scandals in Great Britain's history. Hardly harmless, these affairs disrupted dynastic alliances, endangered lives, and most of all, fed the salacious curiosity of the public for centuries."
(from the publisher)
my thoughts:
The wonderful Miss Moppet at Misadventures of Moppet is hosting The Royal Mistress Challenge for 2011. This was a challenge that I could not resist and couldn't wait to select some juicy novels to read!
The first book I selected, Royal Affairs by Leslie Carroll, is an informative and entertaining survey of royal love affairs of the British monarchy that I thought would be a great place to start. It is divided into sections by royal houses and monarchs and includes the Angevins, Plantagenets, Lancanster and York, Tudors, Stuarts, Hanovers, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and the Windsors. Although it is a nonfiction selection, Carroll's easy-breezy writing style is witty and makes it feel as though you are sitting with a friend dishing about the latest gossip. I did not read this book through cover to cover; rather, I selected those monarchs that I was most interested in first (I went straight to Charles II) and then jumped around when something caught my attention. It was just enough information on each monarch and their liasons to decide which mistresses I would like to explore further for the Royal Mistress Challenge.
A very fun peek into the scandals and loves of of the Kings and Queens of England.
Leslie Carroll is also the author of Notorious Royal Marriages and the upcoming release of Royal Pains.
4/5 stars
Title: Royal Affairs
Author: Leslie Carroll
2008
New American Library
447 pages
genre: nonfiction; British Royalty
5 comments:
That was probably a good way to figure out what to read for this challenge!
I have been wanting to read more nonfiction books; this one just might be my first! Thanks for the review. I hope you enjoy the challenge :)
Dolleygurl -- Yes, it's a little mini library of royal mistresses! Imagine that! I'm always drawn to Charles II, so I can't wait to read more in-depth about his famous mistresses.
Svea - Thanks -- I'm going to read Carroll's Notorious Royal Marriages so I can get in more nonfiction, too.
Thanks for the review, Joanne, and I hope this book leads you to some great novels! I will make sure to include it when I post about non-fiction suggestions for the challenge.
Hello, Miss Moppet - Yes, Royal Affairs is a great resource.
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