The Royal Art of Poison
Fatal Cosmetics, Deadly Medicines and Murder Most Foul
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3 Months Free + £10 Audible voucher
The Royal Art of Poison
Buy Now for £14.51
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Narrated by:
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Joan Walker
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By:
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Eleanor Herman
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 lead. Physicians prescribed mercury enemas, arsenic skin cream, drinks of lead filings and potions of human fat and skull, fresh from the executioner.
The Royal Art of Poison is a hugely entertaining work of popular 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.
©2018 Eleanor Herman (P)2019 W. F. Howes LtdCritic reviews
"A macabre and entertaining romp...Herman writes vividly and with great humor, combining detailed research with easy narrative, making her book both enthralling and sinister." (The Washington Times)
Written with humour, amazingly narrated. Enjoyed every moment of this book (even the gross parts)
I'm considering buying printed copy now.
Brilliant!
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Very clear reading and structure, the only minor issue is that sometimes the jumping about through historical periods was occasionally confusing.
Definitely worth listening to.
surprising, interesting and funny.
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Fantastic
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This is a history of poisons through the centuries. From way back when to the modern day and taking in all the varied, various and macabre ways of discovering if you have been poisoned and also the treatments over the centuries to find an antidote. After listening to this I am so glad I live in the age of today rather than a few hundred years ago.
I will say that this isn't a book you want to listen to while you are eating your lunch! Especially if it's the sections dealing with how royalty and noble persons would guard against poisoning, well how the medics at the time would. Using mummified human remains for example to ward off ill effects is just a very basic thing that was used.
This is so interesting to listen to and it follows a natural progression of medical discoveries and treatments over the centuries. From basic herb lore to cutting-edge laboratory discoveries this book includes a lot.
There is the obvious historical and medical interest to be found in this but also if like me, you are also a fan of crime fiction then this is also a great listen.
The author obviously knows her stuff and it does come across in the narration. I think this is where the narrator and author have been well matched as I think both enjoyed writing and reading this book as much as I did listening to it.
This is one of those books that is ideal for curious minds as well as those with a fascination for the macabre world of poisoning. It is a series of snapshots through history that documents how effective a good poison could be. It is something that has changed monarchs, rulers and important decisions, and as we know it is still in use in today's world.
If I had to sum this book up I would say it is fascinating and an eye-opener. It is one I would definitely recommend.
Fascinating listen, great narration
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Fascinating!
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