Rating: 
Summary: Informative and enjoyable
Review: The information is presented concisely and accurately. I enjoy the author's prose and good-humored nature. Its a fun read and provides very interesting information about World History in case you have forgotten it from high school. An excellent secondary source-- I wish he had compiled his primary sources and published them so we get all the details first-hand.
Rating: 
Summary: A Guilty Pleasure
Review: I enjoyed every page. The pure entertainment value more than made up for any lack of depth. The books gives us insight into the lives and relationships of royals on a human level rarely probed in standard history texts or biographies. If you've ever envied members of the royalty their power and position, this book may make you glad of your more mundane existance.
Rating:
Summary: Lots of fun for royal watchers
Review: Michael Farquhar's "A Treasury of Royal Scandals" will delight inveterate royal watchers! As he sniffs in the introduction, he covers not the current crop of royals, as none of them have provided anything worthy of the title of "scandalous," but he goes in-depth to provide us with (as the book is subtitled) "shocking true stories of history's wickedest, weirdest, most wanton kings, queens, tsars, popes, and emperors."Farquhar provides a handy family tree for major royal families at the beginning--it's most helpful when the scandals reach a dizzying pitch and you need to sort out which royal is plotting to overthrow/marry for money/murder which other royal. He debunks an awful lot of incorrect gossip (like the oft-told tale of Catherine the Great's predilection for beastiality) and comes up with wonderful gems of dirt that will be deliciously unfamiliar to most readers. This is not a scholarly work by any means--it's kind of like a historical PEOPLE magazine, focusing on the faux pas, the foibles, and the fevered doings of all sorts of royals throughout history. Great good fun!
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing..
Review: I was excited about this book when I first came across it, but as I read into it, I was very disappointed. Not only is the author's writing style a little elementary, with several cliché and phrasing that made me cringe, but also much of his information is hearsay and assumption. I suspected as much as I read through the novel and my suspicions were confirmed as I read over passages that I knew to be factually incorrect(eg, the assesment of Marie Theresa's marriage). It seems that the author has attempted to make this subject appeal to a soap opera type audience and it simply isn't historical. For a work of fiction, it is mildly entertaining, although, as mentioned, poorly written. Save your money.
Rating: 
Summary: Too Basic
Review: I was really looking forward to getting this as I love history and a book of royal scandals sounded interesting. Unfortunately, Farquhar writes about the scandals that are too well-known and have been thoroughly covered for hundreds of years (did you know that Henry VIII had 6 wives and had 2 of them beheaded?? Egads!). It would have been great if Farquhar could have chronicled more interesting, unknown facts about these famous scandals, or even dug up scandals that haven't been covered a million times (there are no shortages of those), but if you know anything about history, you will learn nothing more from this book.
Rating:
Summary: Way too dumbed down, even for fun history reading.
Review: True, I did want a fun historical read, a sampling of royal and papal blackguards, but Farquhar's book is clogged up with cliched prose. It is just not skillfully written or edited. He takes the old historical chestnuts and does little with them but paraphrase such works as Suetonius, etc. I'm surprised at the Penguin imprint--I expected far better. This work is so light, it is often juvenile.
Rating:
Summary: it's not *always* good to be the queen
Review: At last someone has gathered all these legendary tales of outrageous behaviour into one convenient volume! The author of this gossipy, quick read reveals many of history's naughty bits with a smart-alecky attitude. It is titillating without being overly detailed and features short chapters, usually 4 to 10 pages, organized into nine categories: sex, vice, marriage, bad parenting, family feuds, madness, Roman emperors, popes and death. Supplemental material is generous and includes family trees, a timeline, a bibliography and chronological lists of the British, French and Russian monarchies; the latter also contain the index, which detracts a bit from its usefulness -- you have to know a figure's nationality and place in time to look them up. Nine line drawings depict some of the people and events discussed.
Rating:
Summary: Royally a delight
Review: I read this book for a history book review. I found it entertaining, yet informing. I would recommend this book for anyone who likes to read interesting books that aren't about everyday life.
Rating:
Summary: Educational but awesome!
Review: I have always been a big history buff. At first, I expected this book to be like a lot of others, dull and boring. The cover alone should have shown me how wrong I am (look at it!). This book is hilarious! Full of factual info, but done in a very interesting way. (Reminds me of a tabloid magazine, except it's real!) Definately a must have for anybody (wether you like history or not, this book will get you interested in history!). Also, finally solves the Catherine the Great debate. (You'll see when you buy it.)
Rating:
Summary: Great fun!
Review: The subject is a bit shallow, perhaps, but Farquahar's writing is hilarious and you must admit, it's fun. His stories are well researched and accurate portrayals of some shocking, dirty, horrendous, and often VERY funny escapades in the lives of prominent European rulers down through the centuries. If you're not into European history, you'll read it quickly, enjoy the ride, and accidentally learn a lot along the way. If you are, you'll love the refreshingly funny writing style and unique focus (they don't tell you THAT in textbooks!), and you'll appreciate the detailed geneologies in the front and chronologies in the back that are an inestimable help in keeping straight the tangled branches of Europe's royal family trees.
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