From Cleopatra to Hugo: History's Most Legendary Love Affairs (Book 1)

History has many romantic stories to tell of the part which women have played in determining the destinies of nations. Sometimes it is a woman's beauty that causes the shifting of a province. Again it is another woman's rich possessions that incite invasion and lead to bloody wars.
Many men in private life have lost fortune and fame for the love of woman. Kings have incurred the odium of their people, and have cared nothing for it in comparison with the joys of sense that come from the lingering caresses and clinging kisses. Cold-blooded statesmen have lost the leadership of their party and have gone down in history with a clouded name because of the fascination exercised upon them by some woman, often far from beautiful, and yet possessing the mysterious power which makes the triumphs of statesmanship seem slight in comparison with the swiftly flying hours of pleasure.
The love story of Cleopatra and Marc Anthony has most attracted the fancy of poets, dramatists, novelists, and painters, from their own time down to the present day. But that story is not the only one. Let us now discover the most legendary love affairs of all times.