Friday, November 22, 2013

Book Review: Princesses Behaving Badly – Linda Rodriguez McRobbie

 Princesses Behaving Badly: Real Stories from History Without the Fairy-Tale Endings
You’ve read the Brothers Grimm, you’ve watched the Disney cartoons, and you cheered as these virtuous women lived happily ever after.  But real princesses didn’t always get happy endings.  Sure, plenty were graceful and benevolent leaders, but just as many were ruthless in their quest for power—and all of them had skeletons rattling in their royal closets.  Princess Stephanie von Hohenlohe was a Nazi spy.  Empress Elisabeth of the Austro-Hungarian Empire slept wearing a mask of raw veal.  Princess Olga of Kiev slaughtered her way to sainthood while Princess Lakshmibai waged war on the battlefield, charging into combat with her toddler son strapped to her back.  Princesses Behaving Badly offers true tales of all these princesses and dozens more, in a fascinating read that’s perfect for history buffs, feminists, and anyone seeking a different kind of bedtime story.

2/5 stars (it was OK)

I was given this book by Quirk books for a review.  I was really looking forward to this book but was a little disappointed.  Although interesting, I felt like there was just too many stories in this book.  It was basically fact after fact in each page.  I would have rather had the author focus on the lives of a handful of women and write more about them.  I really liked the cover and artwork for each story.  I also like how there were sections such as Warriors, Schemers, Floozies (just to name a few) that really made it interesting.  Overall the book was okay.

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