korikam's review against another edition
5.0
Eleanor Herman really knows how to make history come alive. She does a wonderful job painting the picture of the drama, filth, and absurdity that was 17th century Rome.
van_worldexplorer's review
4.0
Slow start but really pics up in the DRAMA in part 2. A great example of female power and how women of the past “beat the system” and made their life their own. A literal queen. And the writing was well done too.
blueskygreentreesyellowsun's review against another edition
4.0
I started off being completely on Olimpia's side: fuck the patriarchy! And then, because she was a real person with all the complexities and contradictions that entails, it got complicated. So my feelings about her as a person are layered, but my feelings about this book are simple: fantastic read!
eric_conrad's review against another edition
3.0
Some ham-fisted prose at times in an overall entertaining book. The history of Rome was interesting as were some of the people making political moves during this time. Not entirely sure what to think of the main subject. No real first person perspective.
silverlotus's review against another edition
2.0
I was very disappointed by this book. The author takes off on tangents so often that I'd be surprised if more than 30% of the book dealt directly with Olimpia Maidalchini. A nearly chapter long digression on the plague did not add to my understand of Olimpia, nor did the endless descriptions of the inner workings of papal Conclave.
I did enjoy the book for what it ultimately was, but I don't think it was a true biography of Olimpia Maidalchini. It was an interesting look at the world she was part of.
I did enjoy the book for what it ultimately was, but I don't think it was a true biography of Olimpia Maidalchini. It was an interesting look at the world she was part of.
stricker's review
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
Amazing. Another story of a disfunctional Vatican in the 1600's.
xxstefaniereadsxx's review
informative
slow-paced
3.0
This book is about Olimpia Maidalchini, who was the sister in law and (very) likely lover of the Pope, Innocent X. In all actuality, she was the Pope. She had her hand in policy making and entertaining both the church and nobles. She lined her pockets with church funds and bought expensive art works and commissions. I love Eleanor Herman, and am looking forward to reading more of her works. She does a great job with her research and her story telling. I liked this one, in particular, because I like learning about women in history.
emmarj's review
3.0
A misleading title and jacket. There is zero evidence presented that Olimpia was engaged in a sexual relationship with her brother in law, Pope Innocent X. And the illustration on the jacket is not of Olimpia, who was actually rather homely.
Truth be told, I thought I was reading historical fiction and began to get rather annoyed 100 or so pages in. Gee, this sure is a ton of background, when does the story begin? Aaannnndd then I noticed the "biography" library label on the spine of the book. Yep.
But hey! It speaks volumes about the book that I expected fiction, got a biography, and kept reading it anyway. This book is extremely detailed and well researched. At times, the detail is almost too much but I think there is much value in the very complete picture Herman paints of the era.
Unfortunately, I felt Herman was heavy handed with the anti woman rhetoric and that is why I downgraded my rating. Discussing the societal misogyny of the 1600s is extremely relevant but Herman discusses the Church as anti woman from birth to present time and I don't find that to be fair or factual. My opinion aside, such a broad and offensive statement was not backed up by evidence.
Truth be told, I thought I was reading historical fiction and began to get rather annoyed 100 or so pages in. Gee, this sure is a ton of background, when does the story begin? Aaannnndd then I noticed the "biography" library label on the spine of the book. Yep.
But hey! It speaks volumes about the book that I expected fiction, got a biography, and kept reading it anyway. This book is extremely detailed and well researched. At times, the detail is almost too much but I think there is much value in the very complete picture Herman paints of the era.
Unfortunately, I felt Herman was heavy handed with the anti woman rhetoric and that is why I downgraded my rating. Discussing the societal misogyny of the 1600s is extremely relevant but Herman discusses the Church as anti woman from birth to present time and I don't find that to be fair or factual. My opinion aside, such a broad and offensive statement was not backed up by evidence.