Books like Queen Margot, or Marguerite de Valois

SO much better than I expected it to be. The book is long, but the story moves at such a fast pace and so much happens that you don't even notice. All the characters are fascinating, and my personal favorite was Catherine d'Medici, who wins the award for Worst Mother-in-Law Ever. I swear, she spends all her time trying to poison just about everybody in the book. She kills one person with poisoned gloves, then fills somebody's lamp with poisoned oil so the vapors smother them, and then she poisons the pages of a book. It's evil and amazing.The only reason this book doesn't get five stars is simple: NO SEX! (yes, I am trashy. Get over it.)Dumas has no problem describing the St. Bartholomew's Massacre, the gross symptoms of Catherine's poisons, and lengthy torture sessions, but he refuses to tell us anything about what goes on in the secret house where Margot and her friend meet their boyfriends. These people were going at it like coked-up rabbits for the entire book, but based on Dumas's descriptions, the farthest anyone ever got was a kiss on the forehead. Luckily, there happens to be a French movie based on the book, and although it takes serious liberties with Dumas's plot, it's rated R, and for a very good reason. Read Queen Margot, then see the movie version if, like me, you have a dirty mind and a weakness for smut.