A Treasury of Royal Scandals: The Shocking True Stories of History's Wickedest, Weirdest, Most Wanton Kings, Queens, Tsars, Popes, and Emperors

This book covers its subject matter clearly and with humor. Not a dry book of historical dates and battlefields, but a book that deals with some quite famous and interesting personalities of history and some of the things they did. It's quite amusing to read about priviledged folks of history and their quirks and picadillos. They may have been 'royal', but many had the morals of an alley cat and the compassion of a viper. Recommended!

Michael Farquhar's "A Treasury of Royal Scandals" will delight inveterate royal watchers! As he sniffs in the introduction, he covers not the current crop of royals, as none of them have provided anything worthy of the title of "scandalous," but he goes in-depth to provide us with (as the book is subtitled) "shocking true stories of history's wickedest, weirdest, most wanton kings, queens, tsars, popes, and emperors."Farquhar provides a handy family tree for major royal families at the beginning--it's most helpful when the scandals reach a dizzying pitch and you need to sort out which royal is plotting to overthrow/marry for money/murder which other royal. He debunks an awful lot of incorrect gossip (like the oft-told tale of Catherine the Great's predilection for beastiality) and comes up with wonderful gems of dirt that will be deliciously unfamiliar to most readers. This is not a scholarly work by any means--it's kind of like a historical PEOPLE magazine, focusing on the faux pas, the foibles, and the fevered doings of all sorts of royals throughout history. Great good fun!

The subject is a bit shallow, perhaps, but Farquahar's writing is hilarious and you must admit, it's fun. His stories are well researched and accurate portrayals of some shocking, dirty, horrendous, and often VERY funny escapades in the lives of prominent European rulers down through the centuries. If you're not into European history, you'll read it quickly, enjoy the ride, and accidentally learn a lot along the way. If you are, you'll love the refreshingly funny writing style and unique focus (they don't tell you THAT in textbooks!), and you'll appreciate the detailed geneologies in the front and chronologies in the back that are an inestimable help in keeping straight the tangled branches of Europe's royal family trees.

This book was excellent! i picked it up and couldn't put it down. It's very addictive...you get a good history lesson about the royal families and their lineage, and at the same time get a good glimpse into the trials and tribulations of the royal scandals! I'm so thankful that this book was written..it's always something i'd hope someone would write. excellent excellent book! definitely a recommended read.

I could not put this book down. If you have no intererest in royality, this book will get you interested. It has provoked me to continue reading about the history of the royal families of Europe and the history of Europe. I recommed this book for anyone who wants to be entertained as well as educated.