The Royal Art of Poison

Filthy Palaces, Fatal Cosmetics, Deadly Medicine, and Murder Most Foul

By: Eleanor Herman

Narrated by: Susie Berneis

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.

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.

©2018 Eleanor Herman (P)2018 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Fascinatingly GRIM

If you are looking for a morbid and fascinating read, this is definitely it. Not only does the author cover important poisoning, but also hygiene and palace filth. Wow. JUST WOW. If Dr. Who arrived in one of these locations, she/he would get out of the tardis, gag immediately from the stench, and get back in.

The only criticism I have is that toward the end of the book the case by case scenarios start out pretty engrossing, but then become a little dry. However, that could be because I listened to this book over the course of a long work day. Overall, completely cracking read.

Very informative

Though it's long, I really enjoyed this book. For years I wasn't a non-fiction reader, but I find myself liking it more and more. My husband is a history buff and we both found everything interesting. I bookmarked several things for further exploration and I expect I'll use some of these facts in historical fiction when I write.

The narration was serviceable though not always my favorite. For a non-fiction book, I think it was just fine, though. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for an in-depth look at royal life, routines, and the bonkers things we used to do with poisons.

Gross and engrossing

Fascinating and entertaining look at historical poisons. Be warned though, stomach churning grossness at times!

Magnificent!

This was so well narrated so informative as well as shocking to say the least. I love the way the narrator pronounces the names with such a native tongue and how she explains the thoughts of these people. I think if something like this was offered in my history classes I may not have fallen asleep....worth a listen.

Delightfully Macabre Read!

Loved every morbid & macabre detail! Entertaining and education! Never boring but not for the squeamish! Worth an occasional relisten from time to time!

Simply fantastic!

I purchased this book on a whim, and thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish. It provided wonderful historical context while reading like a pleasant documentary. Despite the gruesome subject material, I often found myself sharing it fun facts from the book with others. Great cocktail conversation for others and pure enjoyment for yourself!

Fascinating Read

I love this book. From the first page, it is chock full of fun facts about life and death that immediately eradicated all my nostalgia for the good old days. It also makes it difficult to watch certain period dramas without a sense of humor and horror, when considered in the light of new-found knowledge. I highly recommend the audio version, as the reader is very good. Enjoy!

If you like strange you'll like this

This book helps bring the weird, nasty and dangerous world of the past come alive.

Love it.

Weird. Wonderful. Dry. Witty. Humans are so weird. The narrator is fantastic with catching the wry humor in some of the horror.

What we don’t know will hurt us

This was such an interesting book not at all what I expected it . I thought it was about more current day poisoning like Russia,or covert acts, but it was the 15th and 16th century everyday act and food we ate and chemicals they used on there face and clothes every day. You just wonder how we survived all those years to now