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Reviews tagging 'Death'
The Dark Queens: The Bloody Rivalry That Forged the Medieval World by Shelley Puhak
8 reviews
heliofoe's review
4.0
The themes and framing of the historical facts into a story is very well done. However, it does mean that's as a historical exercise I was left wanting to know more about the sources. The 6th century has very limited textual evidence and it's necessary to extrapolate from contextual evidence. I'd just like more clarity on where some of the evidence comes from.
As a trade history book though it's very fun, and I absolutely need a good movie about this.
Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, and Death
Moderate: Child death, Physical abuse, War, Pregnancy, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Xenophobia, Sexual assault, and Forced institutionalization
This is absolutely full of triggers because the medieval world was effed up. IMO worth it if you can read it, as it's not dramatized to the extent it might be in fiction.agathajanemaud1908's review
5.0
Graphic: War, Murder, Sexism, Death, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Infidelity, Confinement, Child death, and Violence
Minor: Suicide, Body horror, Sexual violence, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Torture
readhaileyread's review
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Child death, War, and Death
mondovertigo's review
4.75
Graphic: War, Murder, Child death, Death, Violence, and Misogyny
Moderate: Religious bigotry
Minor: Slavery
constancely's review against another edition
5.0
Minor: Torture, Murder, and Death
katiemack's review
4.5
I learned a lot about the early modern period in my college history classes and always thought the Tudors and the Stuarts had the most infamously scandalous drama. These two rival sixth-century queens make those families look like kids having petty squabbles.
It's clear that Puhak did a great deal of research for this book (even if, as she claims, it's more a work of narrative nonfiction than an academic treatise on the period). Upon reading the author's note about how little artifacts and primary sources there are for the Merovingian dynasty, her work is even more impressive. Puhak's narrative is informative yet entertaining; I feel like I learned a lot without having to slog through unnecessary details or tedious sidebars.
If you're interested in learning about strong women who have been hidden from history by the patriarchy, this one's for you.
Moderate: Violence and Death
xandra_lyn's review
3.5
However, Shelley Puhak (the author) admits this is "not an academic history; it is a work of narrative nonfiction" (171). As an historian, that didn't sit well with me. I also felt there were some analysis issues that a true historian would have navigated better. On a more petty note (but one that bothered me) her citations were rather unconventional, using page numbers and quotes rather than footnotes. (Ms. Puhak is not an historian, but is actually a poet, so that may explain some of it.)
Those are big things for me, but may be little things for non-historians. Overall, it's a good story. Like I said, the history is fascinating and writes itself. Ms. Puhak was simply kind enough to compile it.
Moderate: Torture
Minor: Death
Death: there's a lot of people who are killed Torture: quite a few torture methods are briefly described.alisonvh's review
5.0
Graphic: War, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Child death, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, and Pregnancy
Minor: Rape, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, and Sexual assault