She was the royal mistress. She was ready to converse gaily with the king when she was tired, make love until all hours when she was ill, and cater to his every whim. She was never to be exhausted, complaining, or grief-stricken. Hundreds would vie to unseat her or push her toward a tragic end. But she often had the last laugh, living well and richly off the fruits of her "sins."

Eleanor Herman's Sex with Kings takes us into the throne rooms and the bedrooms of Europe's most powerful monarchs and the women who loved them — from Madame de Pompadour, the famous mistress of Louis XV, who kept her position for nineteen years despite her frigidity, to modern-day Camilla Parker-Bowles, who usurped the beloved and glamorous Diana, Princess of Wales.

Based on impeccable research from diaries, personal letters, and diplomatic dispatches, and alive with flamboyant characters, outrageous humor, and stirring poignancy, Sex with Kings "will please readers who like their history liberally spiked with glamour and gossip" (Boston Globe).

"When kings marry foreign strangers for dynastic or financial reasons and queens are trained in piety over sensuality, royal mistresses seem an inevitability. Kings had flings and extramarital relationships through much of European history, and in her first book, Herman offers, with relish and dry wit, a delightful overview of their sexual escapades. Her subjects are international, though France dominates and England gets a strong showing. It's a lively account, organized by topic e.g., 'The Fruits of Sin — Royal Bastards.' Herman weaves into a larger pattern the tales of recurrent figures, such as Louis XIV's mistress Athnas de Montespan and Madame de Pompadour, who is perhaps more famous than her royal lover, Louis XV. Fashions, love potions and cheerful conversation kept kings enthralled while mistresses made themselves wealthy, husbands acquiesced or simmered, courtiers wooed the mistresses and the public admired or ridiculed. A striking number of these relationships continued despite arguments and even the lack of sex. George II even felt it necessary to keep a mistress for his reputation despite actually loving his wife. Herman ends on a modern note, recounting how Camilla Parker-Bowles famously introduced herself to Prince Charles by noting that her great-grandmother had been his great-great-grandfather's mistress. Herman ends on a serious note, but her wit and perceptiveness will carry readers through this royally pleasurable romp. Agent, Barbara Perlmutter. (July) Forecast: As Janet Maslin has already indicated in the New York Times, this could be the high-brow sexy beach read of the summer. And though a commoner and American-born, Herman dresses regally in her author photo. BOMC main selection." Publishers Weekly (Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"History made as buoyant as fiction." Brad Hooper, Booklist

"A smart, keenly researched history written with wry wisdom." Dallas Morning News

"An irreproachably researched and amusingly written history of European monarchs' jezebels." Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)

"Sexy, dishy and funny." New York Times

From the dawn of time, power has been a mighty aphrodisiac. The royal mistress, having conquered a king, ofter ran his kingdom, wielding her sexuality as a scepter. Sex With Kings is trailblazing in its exploration of this intriguing phenomenon — the position of royal mistress at European Courts, the fascinating women who filled it, and how their responsibilities and rewards changed over the centuries. It's a nonfiction journey through 500 years that takes the reader into the throne rooms and bedrooms of Europe's most powerful kings, and a chapter of women's history which has remained unwritten — until now.

Throughout the centuries, royal mistresses have been worshiped, feared, envied, and reviled. They set the fashions, encouraged the arts, and, in some cases, ruled nations. Eleanor Herman's Sex with Kings takes us into the throne rooms and bedrooms of Europe's most powerful monarchs. Alive with flamboyant characters, outrageous humor, and stirring poignancy, this glittering tale of passion and politics chronicles five hundred years of scintillating women and the kings who loved them.

Curiously, the main function of a royal mistress was not to provide the king with sex but with companionship. Forced to marry repulsive foreign princesses, kings sought solace with women of their own choice. And what women they were! From Madame de Pompadour, the famous mistress of Louis XV, who kept her position for nineteen years despite her frigidity, to modern-day Camilla Parker-Bowles, who usurped none other than the glamorous Diana, Princess of Wales.

The successful royal mistress made herself irreplaceable. She was ready to converse gaily with him when she was tired, make love until all hours when she was ill, and cater to his every whim. Wearing a mask of beaming delight over any and all discomforts, she was never to be exhausted, complaining, or grief-stricken.

True, financial rewards for services rendered were of royal proportions — some royal mistresses earned up to $200 million in titles, pensions, jewels, and palaces. Some kings allowed their mistresses to exercise unlimited political power. But for all its grandeur, a royal court was a scorpion's nest of insatiable greed, unquenchable lust, and vicious ambition. Hundreds of beautiful women vied to unseat the royal mistress. Many would suffer the slings and arrows of negative public opinion, some met with tragic ends and were pensioned off to make room for younger women. But the royal mistress often had the last laugh, as she lived well and richly off the fruits of her "sins."

From the dawn of time, power has been a mighty aphrodisiac. With diaries, personal letters, and diplomatic dispatches, Eleanor Herman's trailblazing research reveals the dynamics of sex and power, rivalry and revenge, at the most brilliant courts of Europe. Wickedly witty and endlessly entertaining, Sex with Kings is a chapter of women's history that has remained unwritten — until now.

New York Times bestselling historian Eleanor Herman wrote Sex with Kings—a history of royal mistresses—and Sex with the Queen—a look at queens' love affairs. Herman has hosted episodes for the National Geographic Channel and The History Channel's Lost Worlds series. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, she is married and lives in McLean, Virginia.