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The story of poison is the story of power. For centuries, royal families have feared the gut-roiling, vomit-inducing agony of a little something added to their food or wine by an enemy. To avoid poison, they depended on tasters, unicorn horns, and antidotes tested on condemned prisoners. Servants licked the royal family’s spoons, tried on their underpants and tested their chamber pots.
Ironically, royals terrified of poison were unknowingly poisoning themselves daily with their cosmetics, medications, and filthy living conditions. Women wore makeup made with mercury and lead. Men rubbed turds on their bald spots. Physicians prescribed mercury enemas, arsenic skin cream, drinks of lead filings, and potions of human fat and skull, fresh from the executioner. The most gorgeous palaces were little better than filthy latrines. Gazing at gorgeous portraits of centuries past, we don’t see what lies beneath the royal robes and the stench of unwashed bodies; the lice feasting on private parts; and worms nesting in the intestines.
In The Royal Art of Poison, Eleanor Herman combines her unique access to royal archives with cutting-edge forensic discoveries to tell the true story of Europe’s glittering palaces: one of medical bafflement, poisonous cosmetics, ever-present excrement, festering natural illness, and, sometimes, murder.
Ironically, royals terrified of poison were unknowingly poisoning themselves daily with their cosmetics, medications, and filthy living conditions. Women wore makeup made with mercury and lead. Men rubbed turds on their bald spots. Physicians prescribed mercury enemas, arsenic skin cream, drinks of lead filings, and potions of human fat and skull, fresh from the executioner. The most gorgeous palaces were little better than filthy latrines. Gazing at gorgeous portraits of centuries past, we don’t see what lies beneath the royal robes and the stench of unwashed bodies; the lice feasting on private parts; and worms nesting in the intestines.
In The Royal Art of Poison, Eleanor Herman combines her unique access to royal archives with cutting-edge forensic discoveries to tell the true story of Europe’s glittering palaces: one of medical bafflement, poisonous cosmetics, ever-present excrement, festering natural illness, and, sometimes, murder.
352 pages, Unknown Binding
First published June 12, 2018
527 people are currently reading
10755 people want to read
About the author
Eleanor Herman
18 books1,028 followersNew York Times best-seller Eleanor Herman's new non-fiction book, The Royal Art of Poison: Filthy Palaces, Fatal Cosmetics, Deadly Medicine, and Murder Most Foul, is set to come out in June 2018. Think royal palaces were beautiful places to live? Think again!
Herman offers a rare combination of skills for a historian – her research is intensely scholarly, yet she writes the story in a colorful, witty manner. “History is so fascinating that it never has to be presented in a boring way,” she explains. “These were flesh and blood people, just like you and me, facing war and plague, falling in love, living among splendid art and gut-wrenching poverty. Sometimes people ask me if I plan to write novels. And I say, with all the things that really happened, who needs to make stuff up?”
Reviewers agree. The New York Times Book Review wrote that Eleanor writes “enlightening social history that is great fun to read.”
The Boston Globe wrote, “Herman’s writing sparkles off the pages.”
The Washington Post called Eleanor Herman “A lot more fun than Danielle Steel or Dan Brown.”
Eleanor, a New York Times bestseller, has also written Sex with Kings (a history of royal mistresses), Sex with the Queen (a look at queens' love affairs), Mistress of the Vatican (a biography of an influential papal mistress), and a four-part YA fantasy series on Alexander the Great, called The Blood of Gods and Royals.
Eleanor is a frequent commentator in the media about royal scandals, and has hosted episodes for The History Channel, the National Geographic Channel, and America: Fact vs. Fiction. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Eleanor graduated with a degree in journalism from Towson University, studied languages in Europe, and for thirteen years worked for NATO’S Nations & Partners for Peace magazine. She is married and lives in McLean, VA with four very demanding cats
.
Herman offers a rare combination of skills for a historian – her research is intensely scholarly, yet she writes the story in a colorful, witty manner. “History is so fascinating that it never has to be presented in a boring way,” she explains. “These were flesh and blood people, just like you and me, facing war and plague, falling in love, living among splendid art and gut-wrenching poverty. Sometimes people ask me if I plan to write novels. And I say, with all the things that really happened, who needs to make stuff up?”
Reviewers agree. The New York Times Book Review wrote that Eleanor writes “enlightening social history that is great fun to read.”
The Boston Globe wrote, “Herman’s writing sparkles off the pages.”
The Washington Post called Eleanor Herman “A lot more fun than Danielle Steel or Dan Brown.”
Eleanor, a New York Times bestseller, has also written Sex with Kings (a history of royal mistresses), Sex with the Queen (a look at queens' love affairs), Mistress of the Vatican (a biography of an influential papal mistress), and a four-part YA fantasy series on Alexander the Great, called The Blood of Gods and Royals.
Eleanor is a frequent commentator in the media about royal scandals, and has hosted episodes for The History Channel, the National Geographic Channel, and America: Fact vs. Fiction. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Eleanor graduated with a degree in journalism from Towson University, studied languages in Europe, and for thirteen years worked for NATO’S Nations & Partners for Peace magazine. She is married and lives in McLean, VA with four very demanding cats
.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 809 reviews
September 30, 2019
Update How they prevent the Queen from being poisoned. When all the dishes are plated up, one of the pages chooses a dish at random, and that is for the Queen. So either everyone is poisoned or no-one. I just saw that on tv and it fitted with this book.
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The book hasn't lived up to it's original promise. This is how it feels like it has been written. A massive amount of research has been done. Each quote is on a separate piece of paper, each subject (like that king, or this pope) on another, so a million pieces of paper with no more than one fact per piece. Then the papers are sorted into logical streams... .everything about this king here, about that poisoner there etc.
The author then writes these up and here and there sees the need to add joining sentences and even more rarely some analysis and even more rarely than that something enlightening, a fact from the time or an insight that gives you something to think about.
So it's repetitious, not insightful, the lack of new nuggets don't hold my attention, and then we are on to the next king and it's more of the same about arsenic this, servants have to test that. So it's a dnf from me. But a 2 star, it's really not that bad a book, just not a good history book either.
__________________________
Notes on reading So far, so ... good. The subject matter is interesting. However, I'm also reading You Are Not Human: How Words Kill (apparently I'm not a human) and Nine Lives. William Dalrymple and Simon Lancaster are both fantastic writers able to convey whole scenes, emotions and information quite concisely with their words. Let's hope she makes up with good research and interesting information for the rather pedestrian prose.
_________
The book hasn't lived up to it's original promise. This is how it feels like it has been written. A massive amount of research has been done. Each quote is on a separate piece of paper, each subject (like that king, or this pope) on another, so a million pieces of paper with no more than one fact per piece. Then the papers are sorted into logical streams... .everything about this king here, about that poisoner there etc.
The author then writes these up and here and there sees the need to add joining sentences and even more rarely some analysis and even more rarely than that something enlightening, a fact from the time or an insight that gives you something to think about.
So it's repetitious, not insightful, the lack of new nuggets don't hold my attention, and then we are on to the next king and it's more of the same about arsenic this, servants have to test that. So it's a dnf from me. But a 2 star, it's really not that bad a book, just not a good history book either.
__________________________
Notes on reading So far, so ... good. The subject matter is interesting. However, I'm also reading You Are Not Human: How Words Kill (apparently I'm not a human) and Nine Lives. William Dalrymple and Simon Lancaster are both fantastic writers able to convey whole scenes, emotions and information quite concisely with their words. Let's hope she makes up with good research and interesting information for the rather pedestrian prose.
May 10, 2019
The Royal Art of Poison: Filthy Palaces, Fatal Cosmetics, Deadly Medicine, and Murder Most Foul by Eleanor Herman is a 2018 St. Martin’s Press publication.
This book is so interesting and is so well researched I can’t help but recommend it, especially for history lovers. However, mystery and true crime readers might also find this book fascinating, because the author relies on past and current forensics to prove if well publicized accusations of ‘death by poisoning’ rumors were true or false.
However, before you begin reading this book, if you have a weak stomach, proceed with caution. It’s a wonder civilization ever survived to this point considering the filth people lived in, even those who were powerful and wealthy. The subject matter is often truly disgusting. So, consider yourself warned.
Poisonings were greatly feared amongst the aristocrats, and perhaps with good reason. However, despite all the great pains they took to avoid being murdered, they were often unwittingly poisoning themselves, either by ingesting prescribed remedies from ill-informed physicians or applying cosmetics with high contents of mercury, lead, or arsenic to their skin.
Often a suspicious death, believed to have been hastened by poison turned out to be from a physical ailment which mimicked the symptoms of poisoning. It was interesting to see which people were murdered and which were poisoned by their own hand, and which ones died of an entirely different malady altogether.
Cleanliness and sterilization were scoffed at. Anyone suggesting there might be a connection between the filthy conditions of the streets, the water, or air and various illnesses or untimely deaths were laughing stocks, maybe even considered insane.
The forensics are fascinating, and the wealth of knowledge and the obvious amount of effort and work done here is impressive. The author, however, does not merely present the facts and lay out her verdict via modern day studies, and exhumations, but she also injects humor and wry sarcasm so that the book occasionally carries a lighter tone, which also works to prevent the book from being overly dry.
Some myths are debunked, some proven, while some things remain a mystery, but one thing is certain, this book has doused any fantasies I may have entertained about traveling back in time. The very thought now makes me shudder!
Overall, this is a very informative book, which will leave one feeling eternally grateful for the modern conveniences and the scientific and medical advances we enjoy today.
*However, you may want to check the ingredients in your face cream, since it is entirely possible it contains traces of urine- although they claim it is now synthetic. 😲😲
4 stars
This book is so interesting and is so well researched I can’t help but recommend it, especially for history lovers. However, mystery and true crime readers might also find this book fascinating, because the author relies on past and current forensics to prove if well publicized accusations of ‘death by poisoning’ rumors were true or false.
However, before you begin reading this book, if you have a weak stomach, proceed with caution. It’s a wonder civilization ever survived to this point considering the filth people lived in, even those who were powerful and wealthy. The subject matter is often truly disgusting. So, consider yourself warned.
Poisonings were greatly feared amongst the aristocrats, and perhaps with good reason. However, despite all the great pains they took to avoid being murdered, they were often unwittingly poisoning themselves, either by ingesting prescribed remedies from ill-informed physicians or applying cosmetics with high contents of mercury, lead, or arsenic to their skin.
Often a suspicious death, believed to have been hastened by poison turned out to be from a physical ailment which mimicked the symptoms of poisoning. It was interesting to see which people were murdered and which were poisoned by their own hand, and which ones died of an entirely different malady altogether.
Cleanliness and sterilization were scoffed at. Anyone suggesting there might be a connection between the filthy conditions of the streets, the water, or air and various illnesses or untimely deaths were laughing stocks, maybe even considered insane.
The forensics are fascinating, and the wealth of knowledge and the obvious amount of effort and work done here is impressive. The author, however, does not merely present the facts and lay out her verdict via modern day studies, and exhumations, but she also injects humor and wry sarcasm so that the book occasionally carries a lighter tone, which also works to prevent the book from being overly dry.
Some myths are debunked, some proven, while some things remain a mystery, but one thing is certain, this book has doused any fantasies I may have entertained about traveling back in time. The very thought now makes me shudder!
Overall, this is a very informative book, which will leave one feeling eternally grateful for the modern conveniences and the scientific and medical advances we enjoy today.
*However, you may want to check the ingredients in your face cream, since it is entirely possible it contains traces of urine- although they claim it is now synthetic. 😲😲
4 stars
December 9, 2019
Who killed the king, the queen, and the page?
In The Royal Art of Poison, Herman explores the topics of European history that we didn't learn about in the history books—how did they die, and why?
Content: ★★★★★
Pacing: ★★★★★
Humor: Yes- dry wit and more, you need it when you're covering these absurd cases.
Graphic warnings: Oh nelly yes. Depictions, descriptions, and more. If you're a squeamish person, I'd pass on this one. We're talking about deaths, symptoms, autopsies, etc. (But not in this review, so you're good!)
The Royal Art of Poison: Filthy Palaces, Fatal Cosmetics, Deadly Medicine, and Murder Most Foul is a pretty self-explanatory title.
People in Europe's past went through some pretty interesting waves of medical knowledge and theory, and these theories oftentimes killed them more often than they saved them. (There are obviously several other cultures and continents with the same experiences in medical knowledge, but this book hones in on Europe—specifically, I'd say England, France, and Italy.)
In this work, Herman explores the history of poison use in European upper classes, as well as the unnatural deaths, unhygienic settings, and odd medical beliefs that existed during that time. For example, let's just say I no longer wish to travel back in time to Versailles for an afternoon. (I don't want to smell it—ew!)
This work was incredibly well researched, well told, and well explained for the average layperson picking this up (me!). In particular, I really enjoyed the case studies, which focused on famous historical figures who died suspiciously (Mozart, Napoleon, Kepler, French kings and mistresses, etc.), and the contemporary diagnosis that was given at the time of their death juxtaposed with our current-day findings and theories.
Highly recommend the audiobook—the narrator conveys Herman's dry humor and sense of brevity beautifully.
In The Royal Art of Poison, Herman explores the topics of European history that we didn't learn about in the history books—how did they die, and why?
Content: ★★★★★
Pacing: ★★★★★
Humor: Yes- dry wit and more, you need it when you're covering these absurd cases.
Graphic warnings: Oh nelly yes. Depictions, descriptions, and more. If you're a squeamish person, I'd pass on this one. We're talking about deaths, symptoms, autopsies, etc. (But not in this review, so you're good!)
The Royal Art of Poison: Filthy Palaces, Fatal Cosmetics, Deadly Medicine, and Murder Most Foul is a pretty self-explanatory title.
People in Europe's past went through some pretty interesting waves of medical knowledge and theory, and these theories oftentimes killed them more often than they saved them. (There are obviously several other cultures and continents with the same experiences in medical knowledge, but this book hones in on Europe—specifically, I'd say England, France, and Italy.)
In this work, Herman explores the history of poison use in European upper classes, as well as the unnatural deaths, unhygienic settings, and odd medical beliefs that existed during that time. For example, let's just say I no longer wish to travel back in time to Versailles for an afternoon. (I don't want to smell it—ew!)
This work was incredibly well researched, well told, and well explained for the average layperson picking this up (me!). In particular, I really enjoyed the case studies, which focused on famous historical figures who died suspiciously (Mozart, Napoleon, Kepler, French kings and mistresses, etc.), and the contemporary diagnosis that was given at the time of their death juxtaposed with our current-day findings and theories.
Highly recommend the audiobook—the narrator conveys Herman's dry humor and sense of brevity beautifully.
July 25, 2018
Did you ever wish that you lived in times long gone? Did you ever think about how glorious it would have been being a king or queen or someone whose voice was heard down through the ages? Imagine dressing in those clothes, being in the regal company with leaders and those who influenced the times? Imagine that you are one of them? Well, perhaps the glory you have imagined is all an illusion!
4 fascinating stars
Eleanor Herman has written a truly intriguing book about the times in the past where poisons were used at will by those who wanted to get rid of a ruler, a lover, or even a competitor. She brings to this story, the actual cases of people who were poisoned and didn’t live to see many more days, oftentimes dying in agony. There were ways that one could be poisoned be it arsenic, lead, or some other cocktail which left you writhing in pain for sometimes days until you succumbed to the poison. To combat this, many employed tasters, a job that sounds like so much fun, or that wonderful tool known as the unicorn horn, or even some concoctions which were often tried on prisoners to gauge their effectiveness which in most cases were nil. and…..if that wasn’t enough….
The men and women loved to adorn themselves with cosmetics. Want a whiter complexion, be a success in court, persuade someone to fall in love, well they had a method for that. They would use cosmetics laden with arsenic, lead, body secretions etc. to achieve the desired result. So, in essence, if someone was not trying to poison you, you yourself did a wonderful job of doing so.
Ever see some of those fabulous portraits where people were adorned in luxury? If you looked behind those portraits at the people, you would find many of those same wealthy endowed people were also “endowed” with lice, fleas, and bedbugs. For, you see, the conditions in these castles were deplorable. They were rat infested, where vermin roamed (both the human and the bacterial form), and the glitterati used the corners of the hallways for their bathroom privileges allowing more disease to infest the walls you lived within. Is it any wonder the life expectancy was so low? ..and then there were the doctors who bled you and fed you remedies that did more harm then good. The phrase “do no harm” was not their mantra.
Ms Herman wrote the real of life in times past. It was no life of fun and frolic as has often been pictured in movies and books. It was a life filled with filth and other dastardly occurrences. We would like to think that the life of then was over, that the poisonings were a things of the past, but that is hardly true as Ms Herman informs the reader of more modern poisoning. Plutonium anyone?
So, in many ways this was a harrowing tale. However, it was also thought provoking, fascinating, and compelling. I definitely recommend it to anyone who loves to learn about the past, learn about things they never told you in school, and find yourself among those who are happy they live in the times they do.
Thanks once again to Eleanor Herman and St Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this engrossing book.
4 fascinating stars
Eleanor Herman has written a truly intriguing book about the times in the past where poisons were used at will by those who wanted to get rid of a ruler, a lover, or even a competitor. She brings to this story, the actual cases of people who were poisoned and didn’t live to see many more days, oftentimes dying in agony. There were ways that one could be poisoned be it arsenic, lead, or some other cocktail which left you writhing in pain for sometimes days until you succumbed to the poison. To combat this, many employed tasters, a job that sounds like so much fun, or that wonderful tool known as the unicorn horn, or even some concoctions which were often tried on prisoners to gauge their effectiveness which in most cases were nil. and…..if that wasn’t enough….
The men and women loved to adorn themselves with cosmetics. Want a whiter complexion, be a success in court, persuade someone to fall in love, well they had a method for that. They would use cosmetics laden with arsenic, lead, body secretions etc. to achieve the desired result. So, in essence, if someone was not trying to poison you, you yourself did a wonderful job of doing so.
Ever see some of those fabulous portraits where people were adorned in luxury? If you looked behind those portraits at the people, you would find many of those same wealthy endowed people were also “endowed” with lice, fleas, and bedbugs. For, you see, the conditions in these castles were deplorable. They were rat infested, where vermin roamed (both the human and the bacterial form), and the glitterati used the corners of the hallways for their bathroom privileges allowing more disease to infest the walls you lived within. Is it any wonder the life expectancy was so low? ..and then there were the doctors who bled you and fed you remedies that did more harm then good. The phrase “do no harm” was not their mantra.
Ms Herman wrote the real of life in times past. It was no life of fun and frolic as has often been pictured in movies and books. It was a life filled with filth and other dastardly occurrences. We would like to think that the life of then was over, that the poisonings were a things of the past, but that is hardly true as Ms Herman informs the reader of more modern poisoning. Plutonium anyone?
So, in many ways this was a harrowing tale. However, it was also thought provoking, fascinating, and compelling. I definitely recommend it to anyone who loves to learn about the past, learn about things they never told you in school, and find yourself among those who are happy they live in the times they do.
Thanks once again to Eleanor Herman and St Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this engrossing book.
July 28, 2018
I was invited to be part of the blog tour for this book by Clare and St. Martin's and this is the type of book I can sink my teeth into. I found it a fun if at times squeamish read, but I'm always up to learn new things from other times. I think I'm happy living in current times.
The story of poison is the story of power. For centuries, royal families have feared the gut-roiling, vomit-inducing agony of a little something added to their food or wine by an enemy. To avoid poison, they depended on tasters, unicorn horns, and antidotes tested on condemned prisoners. Servants licked the royal family’s spoons, tried on their underpants and tested their chamber pots.
Ironically, royals terrified of poison were unknowingly poisoning themselves daily with their cosmetics, medications, and filthy living conditions. Women wore makeup made with mercury and lead. Men rubbed turds on their bald spots. Physicians prescribed mercury enemas, arsenic skin cream, drinks of lead filings, and potions of human fat and skull, fresh from the executioner. The most gorgeous palaces were little better than filthy latrines. Gazing at gorgeous portraits of centuries past, we don’t see what lies beneath the royal robes and the stench of unwashed bodies; the lice feasting on private parts; and worms nesting in the intestines.
In The Royal Art of Poison, Eleanor Herman combines her unique access to royal archives with cutting-edge forensic discoveries to tell the true story of Europe’s glittering palaces: one of medical bafflement, poisonous cosmetics, ever-present excrement, festering natural illness, and, sometimes, murder.
My thanks to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for the advance electronic copy for my review and the blog tour.
Pub: June 12th, 2018
About the Author:
Eleanor Herman is the author of Sex with Kings, Sex with the Queen, and several other works of pop history. She has hosted Lost Worlds for The History Channel, The Madness of Henry VIII for the National Geographic Channel, and is now filming her second season of America: Fact vs. Fiction for The American Heroes Channel. Eleanor lives with her husband, their black lab, and her four very dignified cats in McLean, VA.
The story of poison is the story of power. For centuries, royal families have feared the gut-roiling, vomit-inducing agony of a little something added to their food or wine by an enemy. To avoid poison, they depended on tasters, unicorn horns, and antidotes tested on condemned prisoners. Servants licked the royal family’s spoons, tried on their underpants and tested their chamber pots.
Ironically, royals terrified of poison were unknowingly poisoning themselves daily with their cosmetics, medications, and filthy living conditions. Women wore makeup made with mercury and lead. Men rubbed turds on their bald spots. Physicians prescribed mercury enemas, arsenic skin cream, drinks of lead filings, and potions of human fat and skull, fresh from the executioner. The most gorgeous palaces were little better than filthy latrines. Gazing at gorgeous portraits of centuries past, we don’t see what lies beneath the royal robes and the stench of unwashed bodies; the lice feasting on private parts; and worms nesting in the intestines.
In The Royal Art of Poison, Eleanor Herman combines her unique access to royal archives with cutting-edge forensic discoveries to tell the true story of Europe’s glittering palaces: one of medical bafflement, poisonous cosmetics, ever-present excrement, festering natural illness, and, sometimes, murder.
My thanks to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for the advance electronic copy for my review and the blog tour.
Pub: June 12th, 2018
About the Author:
Eleanor Herman is the author of Sex with Kings, Sex with the Queen, and several other works of pop history. She has hosted Lost Worlds for The History Channel, The Madness of Henry VIII for the National Geographic Channel, and is now filming her second season of America: Fact vs. Fiction for The American Heroes Channel. Eleanor lives with her husband, their black lab, and her four very dignified cats in McLean, VA.
Read
February 18, 2021Entertaining (if a bit too obviously written with the intention of being entertaining) read on poison, illness and filth in the upper crust. And according to this they were pretty damn crusty.
It's a bit of a rag bag, in that the linking theme is basically 'horrible things that happen to bodies', and in many cases it's not clear whether the horrible things were caused by poison, accidental poison from cosmetics or lack of hygiene, the ministrations of alleged doctors, illness, or all of the above. If you coat your face in lead and your lips in mercury, and drink water from a stream people shit in, and eat meat turned on a spit by a dog that isn't taken out for toilet time, and have a food taster lick your cutlery before you eat with it, and when you get sick someone puts half a dead pigeon on your face or the corpse of a saint in your bed...at this point, not only is it unclear what you died of, but I can only think it must have been a welcome release.
In case the above isn't clear enough, this is not a book for the squeamish. There is a lot of diarrhoea, a word I can spell without looking it up thank you, and open sores and vomiting and screaming. A bunch of analyses of famous suspected poisoning cases (stopping at the Marsh test, ie the point where medical science actually kicked in and did some good), plus a chapter on the current Putin poisonfest.
It's a bit of a rag bag, in that the linking theme is basically 'horrible things that happen to bodies', and in many cases it's not clear whether the horrible things were caused by poison, accidental poison from cosmetics or lack of hygiene, the ministrations of alleged doctors, illness, or all of the above. If you coat your face in lead and your lips in mercury, and drink water from a stream people shit in, and eat meat turned on a spit by a dog that isn't taken out for toilet time, and have a food taster lick your cutlery before you eat with it, and when you get sick someone puts half a dead pigeon on your face or the corpse of a saint in your bed...at this point, not only is it unclear what you died of, but I can only think it must have been a welcome release.
In case the above isn't clear enough, this is not a book for the squeamish. There is a lot of diarrhoea, a word I can spell without looking it up thank you, and open sores and vomiting and screaming. A bunch of analyses of famous suspected poisoning cases (stopping at the Marsh test, ie the point where medical science actually kicked in and did some good), plus a chapter on the current Putin poisonfest.
May 1, 2019
RATING: 4 STARS
June 12, 2018; St. Martin's Press
First, I saw the gorgeous cover and was ready to request this book, but then figured I should read the synopsis. I read the intriguing description and clicked on request! I wasn't sure if this book would be to my liking as true crime books can be a hit or miss with me. I don't like the scandalization of murders, but rather learn how it was solved and what we can do to prevent it in the future. Eleanor Herman was going to look into the "poisonings" and deaths of Royalty - history, science and mystery. These poisonings were not all murder plots. Often, it was just a case of not knowing the consequences of every day things and uses. I was going to write "miseducation", but I am not sure if that is the correct word as there was no scientific knowledge on these consequences. As the titles indicates, it was often germs from urine/fecal matter/dust/filth in general, beauty practices, and medical practices and medicine that over time cause poisoning.
I think Herman does. great job in briefly explaining each form of poisoning. She gives you the facts in layman terms in a way that is easy to read. In the second part of the book, Herman gives us case studies of which royals were assumed to be poison. After providing a description on the Royal's demise, she provides the cause of death at the time period and then a modern day verdict. This was the most interesting part to read! The last section of the book is the "modern" look at the science behind poison and of royal poisonings. I believe that Herman in this book balances educating and entertaining readers quite well. It is what kept me reading and interested. I would say that this is probably a book you will go pick up here and there rather than reading it in one sitting. I would recommend that you get the eBook on your phone, as it is a perfect one to pull out while waiting in line or for the bus.
***I received an eARC from NETGALLEY***
My Novelesque Life
June 12, 2018; St. Martin's Press
First, I saw the gorgeous cover and was ready to request this book, but then figured I should read the synopsis. I read the intriguing description and clicked on request! I wasn't sure if this book would be to my liking as true crime books can be a hit or miss with me. I don't like the scandalization of murders, but rather learn how it was solved and what we can do to prevent it in the future. Eleanor Herman was going to look into the "poisonings" and deaths of Royalty - history, science and mystery. These poisonings were not all murder plots. Often, it was just a case of not knowing the consequences of every day things and uses. I was going to write "miseducation", but I am not sure if that is the correct word as there was no scientific knowledge on these consequences. As the titles indicates, it was often germs from urine/fecal matter/dust/filth in general, beauty practices, and medical practices and medicine that over time cause poisoning.
I think Herman does. great job in briefly explaining each form of poisoning. She gives you the facts in layman terms in a way that is easy to read. In the second part of the book, Herman gives us case studies of which royals were assumed to be poison. After providing a description on the Royal's demise, she provides the cause of death at the time period and then a modern day verdict. This was the most interesting part to read! The last section of the book is the "modern" look at the science behind poison and of royal poisonings. I believe that Herman in this book balances educating and entertaining readers quite well. It is what kept me reading and interested. I would say that this is probably a book you will go pick up here and there rather than reading it in one sitting. I would recommend that you get the eBook on your phone, as it is a perfect one to pull out while waiting in line or for the bus.
***I received an eARC from NETGALLEY***
My Novelesque Life
December 30, 2018
Audiobook #268
November 24, 2019
The past was gross. Hardly anyone bathed. Everyone lived in filth. Death came from lack of hygiene. People rubbed foul and toxic substances on their bodies. No one understood the microscopic world of plagues and parasites. And that's just the wealthy upper crust. In The Royal Art of Poison: Filthy Palaces, Fatal Cosmetics, Deadly Medicine, and Murder Most Foul, Eleanor Herman shares numerous stories of famous poisonings and notable deaths. In the process, she provides context of what, medically and scientifically, was actually happening.
For most of the book, the stories track the 13th to 18th centuries, primarily concerning royals or people close to royal courts: Henry VII of Luxembourg, Cangrande della Scala, Agnes Sorel, Edward VI, Jeanne d'Albret, Eric XIV of Sweden, Ivan the Terrible, and so forth. We learn about a wide range of topics, from the famed royal food tasters (many poisons were slow-acting or dose-dependent enough to bypass this safety measure), to the Italian reputation for poisoning (a 16th century victim was said to be "Italianated"), to the physical effects of heavy metal poisons such as arsenic, antimony, mercury and lead. To cover up smallpox scars, women often caked lead- and arsenic-based cosmetics on their skin, worsening their conditions and requiring more makeup in a vicious cycle resulting in death. Painters used pigments with a host of dangerous elements, leading slowly to madness and eventually death. Mercury was often consumed or taken in the form of enemas. Intentional poisonings were common, and court members feared fatal agents in their clothing and chamber pots. Diagnostics were rudimentary at best, and postmortem examinations were often hopeless to determine cause of death, or faked to obscure unwanted truths.
It's not all about poison, though. In pre-scientific times, the cures were often equally dangerous (bloodletting, anyone?) or at best, useless. Royals would pay princely sums for unicorn horns (misidentified narwhal tusks) or bezoar stones (masses of indigestible items found in the stomachs and intestines of animals or even humans) gave a false expectation of invincibility. Clothes were "cleaned" in vats of urine which, in an odd quirk of history, led to mercury being used by hatters. Often what was suspected as poisoning was in reality a perforated ulcer, lung disease, or the accumulated effects of other environmental toxins. Herman ends most stories with a section titled "modern postmortem and diagnosis", in which an exhumed corpse or the examination of contemporaneous accounts have given today's experts enough confidence to establish a definitive cause of death, or at least rule out wilder theories. Many cases remain unsolved because the living descendants of royals (I'm looking at you, Britain) are afraid that a close examination of their ancestors' remains will lay bare illegitimate, broken blood lines. The Dean of Westminster answered one repeated request with: "I do not believe we are in the business of satisfying curiosity."
It's not all about royals, thankfully. There are also chapters about (to my mind) far more interesting people who actually contributed something to the world: the astronomer Tycho Brahe (an absolutely wild character), the artist Caravaggio, the musician Mozart, and even the conqueror Napoleon Bonaparte. As we approach the modern era, the role of disease and poison subsides as diagnostic methods improve, the microscopic world is finally grasped, and health and hygiene improves. There's an interesting coda, however, about the autocrats and dictators keeping the poisoning tradition alive (I'm looking at you, Russia and North Korea) with ever subtler and deadlier poisons. It's a book full of fascinating stories and equally engaging science that will cure you of any daydreams about visiting the past. Highly recommended.
For most of the book, the stories track the 13th to 18th centuries, primarily concerning royals or people close to royal courts: Henry VII of Luxembourg, Cangrande della Scala, Agnes Sorel, Edward VI, Jeanne d'Albret, Eric XIV of Sweden, Ivan the Terrible, and so forth. We learn about a wide range of topics, from the famed royal food tasters (many poisons were slow-acting or dose-dependent enough to bypass this safety measure), to the Italian reputation for poisoning (a 16th century victim was said to be "Italianated"), to the physical effects of heavy metal poisons such as arsenic, antimony, mercury and lead. To cover up smallpox scars, women often caked lead- and arsenic-based cosmetics on their skin, worsening their conditions and requiring more makeup in a vicious cycle resulting in death. Painters used pigments with a host of dangerous elements, leading slowly to madness and eventually death. Mercury was often consumed or taken in the form of enemas. Intentional poisonings were common, and court members feared fatal agents in their clothing and chamber pots. Diagnostics were rudimentary at best, and postmortem examinations were often hopeless to determine cause of death, or faked to obscure unwanted truths.
It's not all about poison, though. In pre-scientific times, the cures were often equally dangerous (bloodletting, anyone?) or at best, useless. Royals would pay princely sums for unicorn horns (misidentified narwhal tusks) or bezoar stones (masses of indigestible items found in the stomachs and intestines of animals or even humans) gave a false expectation of invincibility. Clothes were "cleaned" in vats of urine which, in an odd quirk of history, led to mercury being used by hatters. Often what was suspected as poisoning was in reality a perforated ulcer, lung disease, or the accumulated effects of other environmental toxins. Herman ends most stories with a section titled "modern postmortem and diagnosis", in which an exhumed corpse or the examination of contemporaneous accounts have given today's experts enough confidence to establish a definitive cause of death, or at least rule out wilder theories. Many cases remain unsolved because the living descendants of royals (I'm looking at you, Britain) are afraid that a close examination of their ancestors' remains will lay bare illegitimate, broken blood lines. The Dean of Westminster answered one repeated request with: "I do not believe we are in the business of satisfying curiosity."
It's not all about royals, thankfully. There are also chapters about (to my mind) far more interesting people who actually contributed something to the world: the astronomer Tycho Brahe (an absolutely wild character), the artist Caravaggio, the musician Mozart, and even the conqueror Napoleon Bonaparte. As we approach the modern era, the role of disease and poison subsides as diagnostic methods improve, the microscopic world is finally grasped, and health and hygiene improves. There's an interesting coda, however, about the autocrats and dictators keeping the poisoning tradition alive (I'm looking at you, Russia and North Korea) with ever subtler and deadlier poisons. It's a book full of fascinating stories and equally engaging science that will cure you of any daydreams about visiting the past. Highly recommended.
April 14, 2021
Indes bijušas cilvēces līdzgaitnieces jau no seniem laikiem. Šajā grāmatā aprakstīta inžu lietošana tieši aristokrātiskajās aprindās. Daudzu vēsturē pazīstamu "trako" karaļu un karalieņu trakuma iemesls varētu būt tieši indes. Grāmatas otro daļu veido potenciālo indes upuru apskats, piemēram, Mocarts, Ivans Bargais utt. Īpaši interesanta likās pēdējā nodaļa, kur apskatītas politiskās indēšanas. Ir skaidrs, ka arī mūsdienās (Navaļnijs neļaus samelot) indes lietošana ir aktuāla konkrētajiem politiskajiem režīmiem.
November 11, 2019
It is a well-known fact that over the centuries, royals were in dire fear of being poisoned in one way or the other - usually by persons who wanted to take their throne. They employed people to taste test before they ate, not realizing that many times the poison would not take effect immediately anyway. Many who died suspiciously or suddenly gave rise to rumors of having been poisoned.
This book highlights the ways that people were unknowingly poisoning themselves, without the help of devious others. Cosmetics contained many ingredients known to slowly poison users. Add to that the filthy conditions of the time, including chamber pots, a fear of bathing too often, rampant rodents, lice, contaminated water, the cesspool created by emptying chamber pots outdoors, medical practices (including pure lead fillings in teeth), and you have poison everywhere.
If that wasn't enough to kill you, the doctors routinely prescribed - are you ready for this? - mercury enemas. Mercury. Enemas. (Insert shudder here.)
Skin creams containing arsenic were common.
Unbeknownst to the royals, their drinks, hygiene, cosmetics, etc. were doing them in. Who needed an executioner?
This book has been described as "morbidly witty" by Marilyn Stasio of the New York Times. I couldn't agree more. While the content is enough to make a person shiver, nonetheless it is very hard to put down. It will make you think twice when you gaze upon the beautifully painted portraits of royalty past, knowing they are most likely covered in lice, stinking to high Heaven, and have all sorts of worms infesting their intestines!
A must read for anyone interesting in medical history, royal history, and customs of the times.
This book highlights the ways that people were unknowingly poisoning themselves, without the help of devious others. Cosmetics contained many ingredients known to slowly poison users. Add to that the filthy conditions of the time, including chamber pots, a fear of bathing too often, rampant rodents, lice, contaminated water, the cesspool created by emptying chamber pots outdoors, medical practices (including pure lead fillings in teeth), and you have poison everywhere.
If that wasn't enough to kill you, the doctors routinely prescribed - are you ready for this? - mercury enemas. Mercury. Enemas. (Insert shudder here.)
Skin creams containing arsenic were common.
Unbeknownst to the royals, their drinks, hygiene, cosmetics, etc. were doing them in. Who needed an executioner?
This book has been described as "morbidly witty" by Marilyn Stasio of the New York Times. I couldn't agree more. While the content is enough to make a person shiver, nonetheless it is very hard to put down. It will make you think twice when you gaze upon the beautifully painted portraits of royalty past, knowing they are most likely covered in lice, stinking to high Heaven, and have all sorts of worms infesting their intestines!
A must read for anyone interesting in medical history, royal history, and customs of the times.
March 10, 2020
As it turns out, many famous cases of poisoning in medieval ages are attributable rather to filthy living conditions, unsanitary habits, and food, and especially meats being undercooked or prepared in filthy kitchens at a time when bathing or washing hands were literally considered as dangerous. Then there were the medical practices in pre-modern times, which would seem barbaric at best to any modern reader. Napoleon, in the 19th century was reputed to have remained in good health precisely because he stayed AWAY from doctors!
Poisonings often occurred because of the use of such dangerous substances as mercury, lead and arsenic in cosmetic preparations. These details are covered in the first part of the book, which describes life in the palaces, which despite their splendor were treated as latrines by courtiers.
20 cases of noblemen and women who were suspected of having died from deliberate poisoning are observed in some gruesome detail, and descriptions on the findings of contemporary doctors. Each is followed by modern findings based on analysis of remains, or conjecture based on contemporary notes and observations, when corpses were no longer available.
The last part of the book is about the modern uses of poison, in which Russia gets quite a bit of coverage, largely thanks to Putin’s habit of getting rid of his dissenters.
I found this account fascinating, as it gave a good idea of what daily life might have been like in the courts of the royals. The medical findings were also interesting. I doubt I could have listened with as much composure several years ago, when gruesome details about post-mortems and embalming methods would have made me lose my lunch. However, I am happy to declare that no food was wasted during the reading of this book. Consider yourselves advised.
Poisonings often occurred because of the use of such dangerous substances as mercury, lead and arsenic in cosmetic preparations. These details are covered in the first part of the book, which describes life in the palaces, which despite their splendor were treated as latrines by courtiers.
20 cases of noblemen and women who were suspected of having died from deliberate poisoning are observed in some gruesome detail, and descriptions on the findings of contemporary doctors. Each is followed by modern findings based on analysis of remains, or conjecture based on contemporary notes and observations, when corpses were no longer available.
The last part of the book is about the modern uses of poison, in which Russia gets quite a bit of coverage, largely thanks to Putin’s habit of getting rid of his dissenters.
I found this account fascinating, as it gave a good idea of what daily life might have been like in the courts of the royals. The medical findings were also interesting. I doubt I could have listened with as much composure several years ago, when gruesome details about post-mortems and embalming methods would have made me lose my lunch. However, I am happy to declare that no food was wasted during the reading of this book. Consider yourselves advised.
January 14, 2021
This is a well-researched and entertaining read that is rather more serious than the cartoonish cover suggests.
In the first section, the author outlines the range of staggeringly dangerous remedies and beauty treatments routinely used right up to the 18th century. Severe purging, blood letting, blistering of the skin with burns, and treatments with mercury, arsenic and anything faecal were so common that it’s astonishing humanity survived its own attempts at survival. For the record, I have a cast-iron stomach - the result of many years on the healthcare frontlines – so all credit to Eleanor Herman for making me physically recoil from the pages in disgust. All this in addition to women patting lead powder onto their skins, drinking dog urine or putting undiluted lye on their hair in the name of beauty.
It is important to understand that in past centuries there was a deeply-held belief that cures needed to be more savage than diseases in order to defeat them. It is essentially a battlefield analogy and it has a weird logic to it however alien it seems to our modern do-no-harm mentality.
The second part of the book gives a series of purported historical poisonings seen through the lens of modern medicine. The ‘victims’ were mostly royal dignitaries and almost all cases are disproven by 21st century analysis, until, that is, we get to modern-day encounters with highly radioactive polonium or nerve agents such as sarin, ricin or novichok.
It is tempting to dismiss our ancestors as fools who defied their own common sense but perhaps our present generations will be judged in centuries to come as fools too in our own way, especially with regard to the environment – glass houses, and all that.
In the first section, the author outlines the range of staggeringly dangerous remedies and beauty treatments routinely used right up to the 18th century. Severe purging, blood letting, blistering of the skin with burns, and treatments with mercury, arsenic and anything faecal were so common that it’s astonishing humanity survived its own attempts at survival. For the record, I have a cast-iron stomach - the result of many years on the healthcare frontlines – so all credit to Eleanor Herman for making me physically recoil from the pages in disgust. All this in addition to women patting lead powder onto their skins, drinking dog urine or putting undiluted lye on their hair in the name of beauty.
It is important to understand that in past centuries there was a deeply-held belief that cures needed to be more savage than diseases in order to defeat them. It is essentially a battlefield analogy and it has a weird logic to it however alien it seems to our modern do-no-harm mentality.
The second part of the book gives a series of purported historical poisonings seen through the lens of modern medicine. The ‘victims’ were mostly royal dignitaries and almost all cases are disproven by 21st century analysis, until, that is, we get to modern-day encounters with highly radioactive polonium or nerve agents such as sarin, ricin or novichok.
It is tempting to dismiss our ancestors as fools who defied their own common sense but perhaps our present generations will be judged in centuries to come as fools too in our own way, especially with regard to the environment – glass houses, and all that.
September 14, 2020
It looked interesting but I soon found that it was so repetitive that I wondered how many times the author could tell us the same episodes over and over.
There is some good background on how women used mercury, lead, and arsenic to give their skin a glowing complexion which slowly poisoned them over the years. Queen Elizabeth the First's face was dazzling white which started a trend that lasted for years. But I only needed to read that fact once to get the idea.
I almost gave up on the first section of the book but it got a little better as the author concentrated on the death's of specific famous people of the 16th and 17th century who may or may not have been poisoned, either by accident or criminally. But the incidents were so similar that again I started nodding off. Not one of my favorite books of this year.
There is some good background on how women used mercury, lead, and arsenic to give their skin a glowing complexion which slowly poisoned them over the years. Queen Elizabeth the First's face was dazzling white which started a trend that lasted for years. But I only needed to read that fact once to get the idea.
I almost gave up on the first section of the book but it got a little better as the author concentrated on the death's of specific famous people of the 16th and 17th century who may or may not have been poisoned, either by accident or criminally. But the incidents were so similar that again I started nodding off. Not one of my favorite books of this year.
November 5, 2018
Interesting and comprehensive but at times the author sacrifices accuracy in favor of writing in a style that will appeal to the general reader. I can’t speak to other historical periods but I do know the sixteenth century rather well. A reference to Elizabeth the First wearing royal underpants may make readers smile, but it isn’t accurate. That garment wasn’t yet in use. A little later, in the account of the death of a Frenchman in England, the author says his mother “howled for an autopsy.” That would have been difficult, since she’d been dead for more than 20 years. The man’s wife did believe her was poisoned. In another rather casual treatment of historical fact, she says Henry VIII “ate one too many pork chops and died.” Elsewhere she makes a amateur mistake for an historian by refering to a knight, Sir Gervais Elwes, as Sir Elwes when it is properly Sir Gervais. Yes, I realize I’m nitpicking, but if those details are wrong, it makes me wonder what else has been distorted by the author’s choice of a casual style of writing.
August 14, 2018
4.5 Stars
I really can’t put into words how much I truly enjoyed reading this book. From disgusting palace life, to doctors who do more harm than good, this book was right up my ally. This book could’ve also been titled “Death by Poison”, as it was about all ways that poisoning has killed people in history. But not by purposeful assassination. The majority of these deaths by poisoning were self-administered. Beauty products all contained elements of poison including mercury, arsenic, lead, and even Belladonna to dilate the pupils. These were also common elements in many doctors’ cures for ailments. Most of which were being caused by the very poisons they were being prescribed to cure them! It didn’t help that doctors were still practicing bloodletting, and never washed their hands when performing surgical procedures or delivering babies. Which resulted in the likelihood of death in childbirth, but was never contributed to the nastiness of the doctors’ hands. It also didn’t help that a royal palace was basically a giant toilet. Feces and urine everywhere!
I especially loved the poison index at the end, and the studies of famous people in history who purportedly died from poisoning, and were posthumously studied to determine the more likely causes of death. Essentially, you never EVER wanted to get sick in Renaissance times or you were most likely going to die. If not by the disease, then definitely by the doctors you were paying to treat you.
If those things I’ve described above sound more interesting than disturbing, then you definitely need this book!
I received a copy of this story via Netgalley, and have provided a review of my own accord.
I really can’t put into words how much I truly enjoyed reading this book. From disgusting palace life, to doctors who do more harm than good, this book was right up my ally. This book could’ve also been titled “Death by Poison”, as it was about all ways that poisoning has killed people in history. But not by purposeful assassination. The majority of these deaths by poisoning were self-administered. Beauty products all contained elements of poison including mercury, arsenic, lead, and even Belladonna to dilate the pupils. These were also common elements in many doctors’ cures for ailments. Most of which were being caused by the very poisons they were being prescribed to cure them! It didn’t help that doctors were still practicing bloodletting, and never washed their hands when performing surgical procedures or delivering babies. Which resulted in the likelihood of death in childbirth, but was never contributed to the nastiness of the doctors’ hands. It also didn’t help that a royal palace was basically a giant toilet. Feces and urine everywhere!
I especially loved the poison index at the end, and the studies of famous people in history who purportedly died from poisoning, and were posthumously studied to determine the more likely causes of death. Essentially, you never EVER wanted to get sick in Renaissance times or you were most likely going to die. If not by the disease, then definitely by the doctors you were paying to treat you.
If those things I’ve described above sound more interesting than disturbing, then you definitely need this book!
I received a copy of this story via Netgalley, and have provided a review of my own accord.
March 26, 2018
A special thank you goes out to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for allowing me to read an eARC of of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own!
tw: animal cruelty
This book was absolutely disgusting and I loved every minute of it. What a weird sentence, right? The medieval times were so disgusting and deadly. I literally had no idea just how much filth and disease that floated through the castles. My desire to live in one has diminished slightly. Sure, I knew that life expectancy during that time was low but hot damn, it's amazing anybody lived at all!
This book not only talking about different types of poisons and how royalty had a huuuuuge fear of it but how everyday objects used during that time was deadly. Make up had arsenic and mercury in it. Arsenic was used to "cure" a host of diseases along with everyday ailments. Even eating was dangerous. People would eat raw meat and unpasteurized milk. Bathing was frowned up along with handwashing and the washing of surgical utensils. The list goes on and on.
One thing I like to point out whenever I review books like these is readability. What I mean by this is some non fiction books can be wordy and cause my eyes to glaze over, thus not retaining any of the information I just read. This happened in this book but not as frequently as one would think. I was enthralled and thoroughly disgusted for most of the book. Especially when the different cases of how some famous people died. That was my favorite part. Truly just amazing how far medical technology has come. To think, we, as humans, once lived like that.
Also, friends, please be advised. There is slight mentions of animal cruelty. Often, when people were testing poisons, they would give them to cats and dogs to study the effects. Animals were also given the food and drink of the suspected poisoned human to test if there was actually poison in there or not. It's mentioned periodically throughout the book but it's not super graphic. Take care in your mental health if you decided to pick this book up.
Overall, this was a great book. I took a chance on it and it paid off. St. Martin's Press has yet to steer me wrong. If you guys can handle gross detailed description of illness and death along with mentions of animal cruelty then this will be the book for you. Although, I can never look at medieval history the same way again.
tw: animal cruelty
This book was absolutely disgusting and I loved every minute of it. What a weird sentence, right? The medieval times were so disgusting and deadly. I literally had no idea just how much filth and disease that floated through the castles. My desire to live in one has diminished slightly. Sure, I knew that life expectancy during that time was low but hot damn, it's amazing anybody lived at all!
This book not only talking about different types of poisons and how royalty had a huuuuuge fear of it but how everyday objects used during that time was deadly. Make up had arsenic and mercury in it. Arsenic was used to "cure" a host of diseases along with everyday ailments. Even eating was dangerous. People would eat raw meat and unpasteurized milk. Bathing was frowned up along with handwashing and the washing of surgical utensils. The list goes on and on.
One thing I like to point out whenever I review books like these is readability. What I mean by this is some non fiction books can be wordy and cause my eyes to glaze over, thus not retaining any of the information I just read. This happened in this book but not as frequently as one would think. I was enthralled and thoroughly disgusted for most of the book. Especially when the different cases of how some famous people died. That was my favorite part. Truly just amazing how far medical technology has come. To think, we, as humans, once lived like that.
Also, friends, please be advised. There is slight mentions of animal cruelty. Often, when people were testing poisons, they would give them to cats and dogs to study the effects. Animals were also given the food and drink of the suspected poisoned human to test if there was actually poison in there or not. It's mentioned periodically throughout the book but it's not super graphic. Take care in your mental health if you decided to pick this book up.
Overall, this was a great book. I took a chance on it and it paid off. St. Martin's Press has yet to steer me wrong. If you guys can handle gross detailed description of illness and death along with mentions of animal cruelty then this will be the book for you. Although, I can never look at medieval history the same way again.
November 24, 2021
For your own sanity, do not read or listen to this book while eating. It is gross. You're welcome.
I initially snagged this one from Audible on sale because I thought the concept of ancient poisoning was interesting... I thought it would be a kind of cold case investigation that revealed deadly plots of murder in a variety of mundane places. Little did I know however, that this book would delve into all of the mundane places that were deadly just because.
I read a lot of historical fiction, and let me tell you, they never mention the lice or the never bathing or MULTITUDE of uses for cleansing human pee, or the relieve-yourself-wherever-you-want attitude in all of the fancy court stories - or the fact that people pissing and shitting anywhere and everywhere was the reason that the entire royal court would relocate to another palace for a while... to give the servants time to clean it all up. Probably people would read fewer HF books if it was THAT level of realistic. Me? I would probably read more.
I really did enjoy this though, despite how really, REALLY gross it was. I especially liked the historical cases of suspected poison, and the modern postmortem analysis that explained the likely actual culprit leading to their death. More often than not, it wasn't poison, but just an illness or affliction that wasn't understood at the time (like eclampsia, or ulcers). But when it was poison, it was usually unintentionally administered via deadly remedies or homemade ointments or salves to cure one thing or another.
Pimples? Here rub this concoction of pig urine that has been set in the sun to "purify" for 30 days, arsenic, mercury, various herbs, the fat of a chicken, amanita mushrooms, a cup of hot goat milk, an ounce of white lead, vinegar, and a pureed cat liver on your face. That'll clear it right up.
(*For full disclosure, I just invented that on the spot, but it may as well be a real "remedy" used way back when. Though it's likely missing a few ingredients. They definitely did NOT believe in less is more.)
I found this fascinating and horrific, and I definitely am thankful for modern science and germ theory and the FDA. Though, at the very end of the book, she goes into modern poisons, and... that's a whole new level of terrifying. O_O
Well worth reading, if you're interested in the subject, but I would recommend only to those with a strong stomach or high tolerance for the various forms and uses of human & animal waste.
I initially snagged this one from Audible on sale because I thought the concept of ancient poisoning was interesting... I thought it would be a kind of cold case investigation that revealed deadly plots of murder in a variety of mundane places. Little did I know however, that this book would delve into all of the mundane places that were deadly just because.
I read a lot of historical fiction, and let me tell you, they never mention the lice or the never bathing or MULTITUDE of uses for cleansing human pee, or the relieve-yourself-wherever-you-want attitude in all of the fancy court stories - or the fact that people pissing and shitting anywhere and everywhere was the reason that the entire royal court would relocate to another palace for a while... to give the servants time to clean it all up. Probably people would read fewer HF books if it was THAT level of realistic. Me? I would probably read more.
I really did enjoy this though, despite how really, REALLY gross it was. I especially liked the historical cases of suspected poison, and the modern postmortem analysis that explained the likely actual culprit leading to their death. More often than not, it wasn't poison, but just an illness or affliction that wasn't understood at the time (like eclampsia, or ulcers). But when it was poison, it was usually unintentionally administered via deadly remedies or homemade ointments or salves to cure one thing or another.
Pimples? Here rub this concoction of pig urine that has been set in the sun to "purify" for 30 days, arsenic, mercury, various herbs, the fat of a chicken, amanita mushrooms, a cup of hot goat milk, an ounce of white lead, vinegar, and a pureed cat liver on your face. That'll clear it right up.
(*For full disclosure, I just invented that on the spot, but it may as well be a real "remedy" used way back when. Though it's likely missing a few ingredients. They definitely did NOT believe in less is more.)
I found this fascinating and horrific, and I definitely am thankful for modern science and germ theory and the FDA. Though, at the very end of the book, she goes into modern poisons, and... that's a whole new level of terrifying. O_O
Well worth reading, if you're interested in the subject, but I would recommend only to those with a strong stomach or high tolerance for the various forms and uses of human & animal waste.
December 7, 2019
This book is about how poison permeated every facet of life for historical royal figures. It was a highly entertaining read!
My favourite section of this book was Part 1: Poison, Poison, Everywhere where the author discusses the historical relevance of poison. The different chapters cover poison at the dinner table, cosmetic use, medicinal purposes and within the palace walls. The author takes the reader into the intimate lives of historical royals and their obsession with poison. The extent that they would go to prevent being poisoned made me chuckle. Not only were there dedicated individuals who would taste everything before the royal did, they went a step further. They were forced to kiss the king’s tablecloth, seat cushion and even sit on the king’s chamber pots just in case they were poisoned as well.
The chapter on the filthiness of royal palaces was equally as memorable. There are multiple passages about the copious amounts of human excrement within the palace walls that will make you cringe with disgust. They are forever imprinted in my mind!
There is a section in the book that focuses on various historical figures who died at a young age or under suspicious circumstances (Henry VII, Wolfgang Mozart and Napoleon Bonaparte to name a few) . The author provides a short introduction about the life and death of each individual. This is followed with a discussion of the autopsies that were performed both in contemporary and modern times. It is so fascinating to me how we can uncover so much from centuries old corpses. My only complaint is that I wish this section was longer.
I received a free copy of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
My favourite section of this book was Part 1: Poison, Poison, Everywhere where the author discusses the historical relevance of poison. The different chapters cover poison at the dinner table, cosmetic use, medicinal purposes and within the palace walls. The author takes the reader into the intimate lives of historical royals and their obsession with poison. The extent that they would go to prevent being poisoned made me chuckle. Not only were there dedicated individuals who would taste everything before the royal did, they went a step further. They were forced to kiss the king’s tablecloth, seat cushion and even sit on the king’s chamber pots just in case they were poisoned as well.
The chapter on the filthiness of royal palaces was equally as memorable. There are multiple passages about the copious amounts of human excrement within the palace walls that will make you cringe with disgust. They are forever imprinted in my mind!
There is a section in the book that focuses on various historical figures who died at a young age or under suspicious circumstances (Henry VII, Wolfgang Mozart and Napoleon Bonaparte to name a few) . The author provides a short introduction about the life and death of each individual. This is followed with a discussion of the autopsies that were performed both in contemporary and modern times. It is so fascinating to me how we can uncover so much from centuries old corpses. My only complaint is that I wish this section was longer.
I received a free copy of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
September 10, 2018
This be a pop history book that looks at the use of poisons. It was recommended to me by me matey Sionna @ booksinhereyes. I loved this one and read it in one day. A book of three parts, the first part discusses common poisons, the (lack of) hygiene, and how medicines and cosmetics were actually (inadvertently) poisons in disguise. The second part looks at specific deaths of historical figures and discusses how modern science helped determine the true cause of death. The Medici family, for example, was known for this poison laboratory and gifted other rulers with poisons and instructions for use. The third part deals with poison in the modern world – basically as Russian instruments of death by assassination. This book is chock full of unsavory, fascinating facts. The one that I currently can’t get out of me noggin is that in Versailles the floors were covered in feces and urine because there was no septic system and royal protocols were weird. And these people didn’t bathe!
Check out me other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordp...
Check out me other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordp...
January 4, 2019
Once in a while, I'll take a break from fantasy and read a nonfiction book. This one in particular has caught my attention because I have read
City of Lies
a few months before - a fantasy book focused on poisons - and wanted to know more about how it worked in real life. I was not disappointed and ended up enjoying myself very much.
The book is roughly divided into three parts and mostly focused on the 1300-1800s. The first one doesn't only focus on a general overview of poisons and antidotes, but also general hazards people in the past faced and all the ways in which they could have been accidentally exposed to toxic substances. From heavy metals in make-up, to medicine that wasn't, to rampant disease because of poor hygiene (they pissed and shat everywhere). The latter chapter in particular was disgusting, but also at points amusing in an absurd way. The past was a nasty, nasty time.
The second tells about 20 stories of people who allegedly died of poison. The circumstances, their lives, and a modern analysis of what happened. This was one of the most interesting parts for me. There's a lot of court drama and intrigue (mistresses! Marriage plots!) and it's fascinating to find out the truth, who really died of poison and who of disease. Tuberculosis and accidental heavy metal poisoning were common ways to go.
In the third, we learn how and why poisoning slowly fell out of use on a larger scale over time, and about poisons used in the modern era, in particular by Russia. While the use of poison did decrease, it is by no means a thing of the past.
Overall, while the book started off a tad dry and at points read like a list of facts, it eventually changed in a fast, fascinating read. It requires a strong stomach, but I would still highly recommend it to everyone.
Enjoyment: 4/5
Execution: 4/5
Recommended to: writers, anyone wanting to learn more about poison, those who read City of Lies and were intrigued
Not recommended to: people with a weak stomach
More reviews on my blog, To Other Worlds.
The book is roughly divided into three parts and mostly focused on the 1300-1800s. The first one doesn't only focus on a general overview of poisons and antidotes, but also general hazards people in the past faced and all the ways in which they could have been accidentally exposed to toxic substances. From heavy metals in make-up, to medicine that wasn't, to rampant disease because of poor hygiene (they pissed and shat everywhere). The latter chapter in particular was disgusting, but also at points amusing in an absurd way. The past was a nasty, nasty time.
The second tells about 20 stories of people who allegedly died of poison. The circumstances, their lives, and a modern analysis of what happened. This was one of the most interesting parts for me. There's a lot of court drama and intrigue (mistresses! Marriage plots!) and it's fascinating to find out the truth, who really died of poison and who of disease. Tuberculosis and accidental heavy metal poisoning were common ways to go.
In the third, we learn how and why poisoning slowly fell out of use on a larger scale over time, and about poisons used in the modern era, in particular by Russia. While the use of poison did decrease, it is by no means a thing of the past.
Overall, while the book started off a tad dry and at points read like a list of facts, it eventually changed in a fast, fascinating read. It requires a strong stomach, but I would still highly recommend it to everyone.
Enjoyment: 4/5
Execution: 4/5
Recommended to: writers, anyone wanting to learn more about poison, those who read City of Lies and were intrigued
Not recommended to: people with a weak stomach
More reviews on my blog, To Other Worlds.
October 12, 2023
Nu aveam așteptări prea mari, însă chiar mi-a plăcut! 😊
October 26, 2024
This was a wonderfully well written non fiction book! Packed with so much information but in a very fun way. I also loved the addition of the images in the middle of the book and how she described everyone’s history before getting into the actual poisoning or non poisoning.
February 25, 2019
A gossip column meets my high school AP European History textbook (McKay, I'll never forget you!) in this highly entertaining, if occasionally pedantic, read. Think that combination sounds fascinating? Horrifying? Impossibly bizarre? The Royal Art of Poison is all of the above, and you should keep reading.
Now, those who know me can attest to the fact that I read a little bit of everything, but this book was outside of even my usual territory, and that's saying something. It is precisely what its cover advertises: an examination of the storied history between the European monarchy and poison of all sorts. Tl;dr Europeans loved poisoning each other, especially in the 16th-18th centuries, but they also loved accusing each other of poison while inadvertently poisoning themselves.
Eleanor Herman divides her book is divided into three sections.
In the first, she covers various ways in which European nobles would poison and make themselves sick without even knowing it. Among other things, cosmetics and medicines often contained lead, arsenic, and mercury; people didn't believe that bacteria were a real thing; and it was considered a good practice to split a bird in half and put it on the head or feet of a sick person to "draw out ill humors." Though the number of "wtf" moments in this section is high, and Herman does a good job of trying to avoid sounding like an info-dump, after a while it does start to sound like hearing the same thing over and over again. But it is an excellent and necessary prelude to part two.
In the second, she dashes through 17 case studies of historical poisonings or accusations of poison. Combining the historical context of the alleged attempts with both contemporary and modern-day postmortems, sometimes including chemical analysis of human remains, she delivers new insight and possible conclusions as to what really happened (see the end of this review for a body count). This was the best part of the book by far, swirling with rumors and commentary from nobles associated with the situation. Chapters were brief but not rushed, and the range of names--from lesser-known people like Agnes Sorel to famous kings and even Mozart--is impressive beyond a doubt.
In the third, she takes poisoning to the modern era. This is where the book really faltered, and it's the biggest reason for my four-star rating. Honestly, I almost skipped this section halfway through, which is saying something, since it's also the shortest section of the book. Focusing primarily on Russia, Herman rattles off in rapid succession all sorts of poisonings from within the past hundred years or so, emphasizing that we don't really get false accusations of poison anymore because autopsies better detect it. It's not that the stories aren't interesting, but this section is devoid of the personality and story-like qualities that brought the earlier case studies to life, which causes it to really drag.
Couple other random notes:
- There are a few pages at the end that describe the exact effects of all poisons mentioned in the book, and a "hall of fame" for poisons, with such dubious honors as Least Painful, Most Painful, and Fastest Acting. It's an entertaining bit, but I'm not entirely sure why it's at the very end.
- Herman uses the phrase "we can imagine" a lot. Like, a lot. It started to bug me after a while, but that's not a huge deal.
- IMPORTANT: THIS BOOK IS NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH. There is blood and gore, there are bugs and viruses, boils and bruises and body parts turning unnatural colors. It's fun, but it's very gross fun.
And now, what you've all been waiting for: the final body count from the case studies.
Deliberate poisoning - 3
Accidental poisoning - 2
Poisoning, source/motive unclear - 2
Natural causes/illness - 10*
*Note that one of the ones who died of natural causes did have someone attempting to poison her, but those attempts were unsuccessful.
All in all, not perfect, but an enjoyably weird read that will definitely make you think twice about wanting to live as a king/princess/court musician back in the day.
Now, those who know me can attest to the fact that I read a little bit of everything, but this book was outside of even my usual territory, and that's saying something. It is precisely what its cover advertises: an examination of the storied history between the European monarchy and poison of all sorts. Tl;dr Europeans loved poisoning each other, especially in the 16th-18th centuries, but they also loved accusing each other of poison while inadvertently poisoning themselves.
Eleanor Herman divides her book is divided into three sections.
In the first, she covers various ways in which European nobles would poison and make themselves sick without even knowing it. Among other things, cosmetics and medicines often contained lead, arsenic, and mercury; people didn't believe that bacteria were a real thing; and it was considered a good practice to split a bird in half and put it on the head or feet of a sick person to "draw out ill humors." Though the number of "wtf" moments in this section is high, and Herman does a good job of trying to avoid sounding like an info-dump, after a while it does start to sound like hearing the same thing over and over again. But it is an excellent and necessary prelude to part two.
In the second, she dashes through 17 case studies of historical poisonings or accusations of poison. Combining the historical context of the alleged attempts with both contemporary and modern-day postmortems, sometimes including chemical analysis of human remains, she delivers new insight and possible conclusions as to what really happened (see the end of this review for a body count). This was the best part of the book by far, swirling with rumors and commentary from nobles associated with the situation. Chapters were brief but not rushed, and the range of names--from lesser-known people like Agnes Sorel to famous kings and even Mozart--is impressive beyond a doubt.
In the third, she takes poisoning to the modern era. This is where the book really faltered, and it's the biggest reason for my four-star rating. Honestly, I almost skipped this section halfway through, which is saying something, since it's also the shortest section of the book. Focusing primarily on Russia, Herman rattles off in rapid succession all sorts of poisonings from within the past hundred years or so, emphasizing that we don't really get false accusations of poison anymore because autopsies better detect it. It's not that the stories aren't interesting, but this section is devoid of the personality and story-like qualities that brought the earlier case studies to life, which causes it to really drag.
Couple other random notes:
- There are a few pages at the end that describe the exact effects of all poisons mentioned in the book, and a "hall of fame" for poisons, with such dubious honors as Least Painful, Most Painful, and Fastest Acting. It's an entertaining bit, but I'm not entirely sure why it's at the very end.
- Herman uses the phrase "we can imagine" a lot. Like, a lot. It started to bug me after a while, but that's not a huge deal.
- IMPORTANT: THIS BOOK IS NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH. There is blood and gore, there are bugs and viruses, boils and bruises and body parts turning unnatural colors. It's fun, but it's very gross fun.
And now, what you've all been waiting for: the final body count from the case studies.
Deliberate poisoning - 3
Accidental poisoning - 2
Poisoning, source/motive unclear - 2
Natural causes/illness - 10*
*Note that one of the ones who died of natural causes did have someone attempting to poison her, but those attempts were unsuccessful.
All in all, not perfect, but an enjoyably weird read that will definitely make you think twice about wanting to live as a king/princess/court musician back in the day.
April 4, 2018
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in return for an honest review. Much to my surprise, this book immediately rose to the top of my pile; like sticky candy, I couldn't put it down. Yes I admit to a guilty curiosity about nasty murders and suspicious intrigues; this book satisfied my curiosity and much more. I was familiar with many of the historical victims, though I was not as familiar with the “true” story behind their deaths. For instance, I knew that King Edward VI died a painful and lingering death; in a movie I remember that the Duke of Northumberland was depicted as prolonging the boy’s life with painful medication until his plot to gain control had ripened. What I didn’t know was that modern interpretation attributes his death to a probable childhood case of latent tuberculosis (a contemporary postmortem revealed putrefied ulcers in his lungs) which could have been reactivated by a case of measles.
Not only do we learn about famous deaths and poisonings, we get a primer on late medieval customs that were toxic, such as the use of arsenic, lead, and mercury in medicines—not to mention the fact that medieval doctors practiced horrible procedures on their royal patients that were much worse than the diseases. For instance, there was poor George III, who refused to take his medicine until he became too ill to object. “The doctors diagnosed an improper flow of bile. To correct the humoral imbalance, they gave him medicine to bring on projectile vomiting and diarrhea. They also blistered his scalp and applied leeches to his forehead to draw the evil humors out of his brain, and blistered his legs to pull the humors downward. Within twenty-four hours of his first treatment, the king was feverish, his urine brown, his feet swollen, his eyeballs yellow, and his blisters festering and oozing pus. Even worse, his mental state deteriorated rapidly.” No wonder!
As you might expect, the subject matter is not exactly for the faint-hearted (pardon the pun). There is plenty of bile, putrefaction, bloodletting, puss, and hair loss to turn the strongest stomach, but the author manages to deliver the information in such a light-hearted style that she entertains while informing. While talking about Elizabeth I and her refusal to allow an autopsy and embalming procedure, Herman tells us that “Her wishes regarding embalming were overruled, however, given that she would not be buried in a timely manner. Six of her ladies-in-waiting had to sit next to the coffin in shifts, twenty-four hours a day, for over a month…One night an explosion ripped open the casket with a deafening crack, spewing foul-smelling gases and sending the women screaming from the room. To put a positive spin on the situation, they agreed ‘that if she had not been opened, the breath of her body would have been much worse.’” The book is full of this kind of imagery, delivered almost tongue-in-cheek nearly all the way to the end. Alas, when we get to the modern-day stuff (mostly about Putin and Russia), the prose turns cold and sterile, as though not enough time has passed to treat the events with detachment like we see in earlier chapters. Although interesting, it changes the tone and ends on a pretty somber note. I think the book would have been better off to retain its historical flavor rather than bringing us into the 21st century. There was an extensive bibliography—much more than I would have expected from a “pop history” like it says on the back cover—but no footnotes, which I would have appreciated. Nonetheless, I found this book to be a useful addition to my library and it was full of many interesting surprises.
Not only do we learn about famous deaths and poisonings, we get a primer on late medieval customs that were toxic, such as the use of arsenic, lead, and mercury in medicines—not to mention the fact that medieval doctors practiced horrible procedures on their royal patients that were much worse than the diseases. For instance, there was poor George III, who refused to take his medicine until he became too ill to object. “The doctors diagnosed an improper flow of bile. To correct the humoral imbalance, they gave him medicine to bring on projectile vomiting and diarrhea. They also blistered his scalp and applied leeches to his forehead to draw the evil humors out of his brain, and blistered his legs to pull the humors downward. Within twenty-four hours of his first treatment, the king was feverish, his urine brown, his feet swollen, his eyeballs yellow, and his blisters festering and oozing pus. Even worse, his mental state deteriorated rapidly.” No wonder!
As you might expect, the subject matter is not exactly for the faint-hearted (pardon the pun). There is plenty of bile, putrefaction, bloodletting, puss, and hair loss to turn the strongest stomach, but the author manages to deliver the information in such a light-hearted style that she entertains while informing. While talking about Elizabeth I and her refusal to allow an autopsy and embalming procedure, Herman tells us that “Her wishes regarding embalming were overruled, however, given that she would not be buried in a timely manner. Six of her ladies-in-waiting had to sit next to the coffin in shifts, twenty-four hours a day, for over a month…One night an explosion ripped open the casket with a deafening crack, spewing foul-smelling gases and sending the women screaming from the room. To put a positive spin on the situation, they agreed ‘that if she had not been opened, the breath of her body would have been much worse.’” The book is full of this kind of imagery, delivered almost tongue-in-cheek nearly all the way to the end. Alas, when we get to the modern-day stuff (mostly about Putin and Russia), the prose turns cold and sterile, as though not enough time has passed to treat the events with detachment like we see in earlier chapters. Although interesting, it changes the tone and ends on a pretty somber note. I think the book would have been better off to retain its historical flavor rather than bringing us into the 21st century. There was an extensive bibliography—much more than I would have expected from a “pop history” like it says on the back cover—but no footnotes, which I would have appreciated. Nonetheless, I found this book to be a useful addition to my library and it was full of many interesting surprises.
November 20, 2019
A history of famous people being poisoned, sometimes on purpose but mostly by mistake. This is more of a history of medicine. It focuses on how oblivious doctors were in the past, and how they often just prescribed random treatments to their patients with the idea of "maybe this will work?"
It did get quite dry at times which most medical non-fiction books are to me. I did get some fun facts out of it.
It did get quite dry at times which most medical non-fiction books are to me. I did get some fun facts out of it.
March 27, 2019
I’m in search for my next Mary Roach read and this was very, very close. Oh no, it’s not insulting being compared to Mary Roach, it is indeed a compliment. I enjoyed the last two-thirds of the book very much. Particularly when Herman focused on characters in history I was familiar with. The best part were the modern autopsy results.
September 29, 2020
I will admit that I liked some of this author's books better. This book by Herman has some interesting investigations into the deaths of various members of royalty and the aristocracy through the ages. Many times what was thought to be murder at the time has been found to be something different when current forensics is used to look into the death.
October 12, 2021
Не конкретно за отровни растения книга, но пък чудесно разказва историята на отровите през времето. Но откровено казано ни със старите, ни с модерните отрови желая да имам досег. Едните те убиват бавно и мъчително, другите бързо и мъчително. Частта с мъчителното я намирам за изключително проблематична.
Книгата е посветена предимно на времето на Ренесанса, когато всички са вярвали, че са отровени, което до някъде като четеш гротеските описания - си е вярно. Проблемът е бил в това, че отравянето е било на дневна база и е било навсякъде около тях. Книгата включва глави за медицината по онова време, за козметиката, за обстановката и въобще нещичко за всяка сфера от живота на ренесансовите хора, което е водило до хронично натравяне например. Също така има включени глави за отравянето в по-модерни времена, стигайки до Русия даже. Всичките гадории, които описа авторката, не могат да се сравнят с чистия ужас, който изпитах от креативността на руснаците. :/
Наистина съм любопитна да науча какво ли ще си мислят за н��шето време следващите поколения, след няколко столетия, колко ли глупави и невежи ще им се струваме. Уви, никога няма да знаем, но поне болкоуспокояващи имаме в изобилие да компенсираме това, което тепърва предстои да бъде открито и осъзнато. :Р
Книгата е посветена предимно на времето на Ренесанса, когато всички са вярвали, че са отровени, което до някъде като четеш гротеските описания - си е вярно. Проблемът е бил в това, че отравянето е било на дневна база и е било навсякъде около тях. Книгата включва глави за медицината по онова време, за козметиката, за обстановката и въобще нещичко за всяка сфера от живота на ренесансовите хора, което е водило до хронично натравяне например. Също така има включени глави за отравянето в по-модерни времена, стигайки до Русия даже. Всичките гадории, които описа авторката, не могат да се сравнят с чистия ужас, който изпитах от креативността на руснаците. :/
Наистина съм любопитна да науча какво ли ще си мислят за н��шето време следващите поколения, след няколко столетия, колко ли глупави и невежи ще им се струваме. Уви, никога няма да знаем, но поне болкоуспокояващи имаме в изобилие да компенсираме това, което тепърва предстои да бъде открито и осъзнато. :Р
July 5, 2023
All you wanted to know about poisons but were afraid to ask could be a subtitle of this book. We learn about poisons from ancient times to current day. Royalty was often those poisoned the most, however, musicians, artisans, and political figures are mentioned. Some poisons were intentional but many weren't. It was an interesting read, but not a guide to poison someone.
How did this book find me? I came across the title I think through Hoopla and it intrigued me.
How did this book find me? I came across the title I think through Hoopla and it intrigued me.
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