The Royal Art of Poison: Filthy Palaces, Fatal Cosmetics, Deadly Medicine, and Murder Most Foul
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Description
"Morbidly witty." ―Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times
"A heady mix of erudite history and delicious gossip." ―Aja Raden, author of Stoned
Hugely entertaining, a work of pop history that traces the use of poison as a political―and cosmetic―tool in the royal courts of Western Europe from the Middle Ages to the Kremlin today
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.
Book Information
Posts
Very interesting read. Interesting, gruesome and outright disgusting at some points. If you have ever seen one of those videos on YT where people pop massive pimples and watched closely with horrified fascination and if you are also one of those people who know the kings and queens and princes and princesses of Europe by heart, „The Royal Art of Poison“ is definitely the book for you. But even if you don‘t count yourself among those mentioned, this book will be an amazing collection of fun facts for parties. „Did you know that medical experts in the 18th century believed that sperm left in women would start rotting and eventually mutate into worms who would crawl or eat their way out?“ is a great opener, believe me. Anyway, this book gives many details on how doctors treated - or tortured - and sometimes outright killed their patients with their medicines and how people poisoned themselves by using various cosmetics. You‘ll get insight in how the royals lived back then and will learn many tidbits they never tell you at school. In another part of the book the author writes about royals, lords and ladies who supposedly have been poisoned. What really happened? Was it poison and if so, what kind and how were they exposed to it? Or were they simply sick? An in yet another chapter we learn that the art of poison is still practiced as of today, but instead of hemlock and arsenic, radioactive poisons play a primary role. Loved it, 10/10 would recommend.
Description
"Morbidly witty." ―Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times
"A heady mix of erudite history and delicious gossip." ―Aja Raden, author of Stoned
Hugely entertaining, a work of pop history that traces the use of poison as a political―and cosmetic―tool in the royal courts of Western Europe from the Middle Ages to the Kremlin today
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.
Book Information
Posts
Very interesting read. Interesting, gruesome and outright disgusting at some points. If you have ever seen one of those videos on YT where people pop massive pimples and watched closely with horrified fascination and if you are also one of those people who know the kings and queens and princes and princesses of Europe by heart, „The Royal Art of Poison“ is definitely the book for you. But even if you don‘t count yourself among those mentioned, this book will be an amazing collection of fun facts for parties. „Did you know that medical experts in the 18th century believed that sperm left in women would start rotting and eventually mutate into worms who would crawl or eat their way out?“ is a great opener, believe me. Anyway, this book gives many details on how doctors treated - or tortured - and sometimes outright killed their patients with their medicines and how people poisoned themselves by using various cosmetics. You‘ll get insight in how the royals lived back then and will learn many tidbits they never tell you at school. In another part of the book the author writes about royals, lords and ladies who supposedly have been poisoned. What really happened? Was it poison and if so, what kind and how were they exposed to it? Or were they simply sick? An in yet another chapter we learn that the art of poison is still practiced as of today, but instead of hemlock and arsenic, radioactive poisons play a primary role. Loved it, 10/10 would recommend.