Royal Pains: A Rogues' Gallery of Brats, Brutes, and Bad Seeds

by Leslie Carroll

Overview

The author of Notorious Royal Marriages presents some of history's boldest, baddest, and bawdiest royals.

The bad seeds on the family trees of the most powerful royal houses of Europe often became the most rotten of apples: über-violent autocrats Vlad the Impaler and Ivan the Terrible literally reigned in blood. Lettice Knollys strove to mimic the appearance of her cousin Elizabeth I and even stole her man. And Pauline Bonaparte scandalized her brother Napoleon by having a golden goblet fashioned in the shape of her breast.

Chock-full of shocking scenes, titillating tales, and wildly wicked nobles, Royal Pains is a rollicking compendium of the most infamous, capricious, and insatiable bluebloods of Europe.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780451232212
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	03/01/2011
Pages:	416
Sales rank:	998,237
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Leslie Carroll is the author of several works of historical nonfiction, women’s fiction, and, under the pen names Juliet Grey and Amanda Elyot, a multipublished author of historical fiction. Her nonfiction titles include Royal Romances, Royal Pains, Royal Affairs, Notorious Royal Marriages, and Inglorious Royal Marriages. She is also a classically trained professional actress with numerous portrayals of virgins, vixens, and villainesses to her credit, and is an award-winning audio book narrator.

A frequent commentator on royal romances and relationships, Leslie has been interviewed by numerous publications, including MSNBC.com, USA Today, the Australian Broadcasting Company, and NPR, and she was a featured royalty historian on CBS nightly news in London during the royal wedding coverage of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. She has also appeared as an expert on the love lives of Queen Victoria, Marie Antoinette, Catherine the Great, and Napoleon on the television series “The Secret Life of...” for Canada’s History Channel. Leslie and her husband, Scott, divide their time between New York City and Denver, Colorado.

Editorial Reviews

Royalty has always been good for stories of extremes-good, bad, and infamous. In her latest exploration of aristocratic errors, Carroll (after Notorious Royal Marriages) looks at a handful of aristocrats who gained infamy through homicidally bad behavior (like Ivan the Terrible or Renaissance "Blood Countess" Erzsébet Báthory), serious sexual indiscretions (Prince Henry, Duke of Cumberland), or outright treason (King John and Richard III). Carroll writes comprehensive biographies of each, highlighting the implications and outcomes of their poor decisions; the results will leave readers alternatively horrified, amused, and disgusted. Despite repetitive and unimaginative prose, the information and brisk pacing make Carroll's book a treat, and readers with idle interest in the antics of the privileged classes will eat it up. The author tries to be fair when dealing with contending perspectives and is transparent about her own bias. Packed with gruesome details and brimming with wit, this is a wildly breezy read.
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