Book No. 77 of 2020
Was in the mood for some gossipy pop history, and apparently I like reading about courtesans? This was a fun romp through the palaces and bedchambers of Western European history, and an intriguing study into how smart, savvy women found ways to gain power.
This book was obviously a fun read, full of titillating details, lavish descriptions of jewels and finery, and colorful (and judgmental) assessments of the women throughout history who attracted royal attention. It’s also a sobering account of how precarious a woman’s place in a man’s world could be—whether a woman was a queen or a mistress, power was difficult to obtain and more difficult to keep, and even the most beautiful, clever, and quick-thinking women were victims of male whims and political intrigue.
I can’t say I loved the structure of the book; while I was impressed that Herman’s book on the history of poison did a great job exploring cultural context in rich detail, I didn’t feel like I got that here. Furthermore, instead of going in-depth into one mistress at a time, Herman organizes the chapters by theme, meaning the reader is bounced around multiple eras and countries in a few pages and has to mentally string together the full stories of specific women over the course of the book. I get the logic behind the thematic organization, but thought it took away from the individual narratives.
Similar Reads
I recommend one of Eleanor Herman’s other books, The Royal Art of Poison, which is more historically rich and actually covers in detail many of the stories in Sex With Kings.
Thought there was a ton of thematic overlap with Catherine Hewitt’s The Mistress of Paris, which focuses on one specific courtesan’s life, and makes very similar observations.
The passages about jewels—and how they were effectively financial safety nets for women whose incomes could disappear in a flash—reminded me of the jewel-managing lesson from Alexander Chee’s Queen of the Night.