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464 reviews for:
Princesses Behaving Badly: Real Stories from History Without the Fairy-Tale Endings
Linda Rodríguez McRobbie
3.6 AVERAGE
464 reviews for:
Princesses Behaving Badly: Real Stories from History Without the Fairy-Tale Endings
Linda Rodríguez McRobbie
3.6 AVERAGE
informative
fast-paced
The history was interesting but the language could have used more care
dark
funny
informative
slow-paced
So, first the good; introduced me to a lot of stories I knew nothing about, the stories are diverse both in the women themselves and time periods they’re from, it was easily consumable (listened over two workdays).
The bad? Each chapter is very shallow and because there are so many short chapters a lot of them are not actually very interesting. I would have preferred going twice as in depth on half the stories. It feels like a compilation of like internet articles rather than a cohesive work. Also the way the stories are grouped is iffy at best.
Ultimately this book is pop history with emphasis on the pop instead of the history - if you want a primer on interesting historical women you could definitely do worse but for me it was a miss.
The bad? Each chapter is very shallow and because there are so many short chapters a lot of them are not actually very interesting. I would have preferred going twice as in depth on half the stories. It feels like a compilation of like internet articles rather than a cohesive work. Also the way the stories are grouped is iffy at best.
Ultimately this book is pop history with emphasis on the pop instead of the history - if you want a primer on interesting historical women you could definitely do worse but for me it was a miss.
slow-paced
This book was drowning in snark, and it seemed obvious that McRobbie's goal was to make fun of these "bad" princesses, rather than provide an informative narrative on complex and fully-fleshed women. There were also some pretty horrific moments where she openly disparages princesses who lacked Disney-movie body types, explicitly claiming that records of their beauty must have been sarcastic or exaggerated because there is no way a person who looked the way they did could actually be beautiful.
In her intro, McRobbie claims to have written this book in an effort to break away from the Princess Movement that has, according to her, sparked so much narcissism and entitlement in young girls and is based around valuing physical appearances over intelligence or bravery. How very sad and hypocritical of her to then turn around and tear down another person because she doesn't fit McRobbie's mold of classic royal beauty.
In her intro, McRobbie claims to have written this book in an effort to break away from the Princess Movement that has, according to her, sparked so much narcissism and entitlement in young girls and is based around valuing physical appearances over intelligence or bravery. How very sad and hypocritical of her to then turn around and tear down another person because she doesn't fit McRobbie's mold of classic royal beauty.
I just loved this book. It was great to catch glimpses of the women I was already familiar with, and also to learn about entirely new ladies that I had never even heard of before.
A great, light read.
A great, light read.
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
I won a copy of this book through a Goodreads First Reads giveaway. While Goodreads does ask for a review in exchange for the advance reader copy, I was in no way compensated for my review.
This is a collection of stories about real-life princesses throughout history who made their marks, in one way or another. Several make power grabs, while others are known for being the true power behind the throne, or for their madness. There are some warriors, all from non-European backgrounds. Many of the stories are about princesses in the last century or so, known for a certain wildness.
The book's strength is that it covers a lot of different cultures. There are princesses from every continent but Australia and South America. It could've stuck to just European royalty, but the variety fills in a lot of gaps of my own knowledge of history. Two North American princesses are discussed, in very different terms due to their very different approaches to the white conquerors.
While this does go a long way toward showing us where the women were in history, it's not without its faults. The book uses "gypsy" to describe people of Romani heritage, and doesn't question the stereotyped views thereof. It also takes a modern approach to beauty, scoffing at descriptions of plump princesses as attractive and describing all of the European princesses in terms of their looks. The Asian, African, and Native American, apparently, weren't worth considering. Last, it often presents the mythologized stories of these royals for several paragraphs before cutting in to say that's not true, that this is how it really happened.
This book was a decent way to make history interesting and relevant to me. It adds on to my high school courses about dead white guys. But, as a primary resource, it's lacking. I think it's a good jumping-off point for discovering about different people and cultures, but it's not detailed enough. It is a fun read, though the last third felt rather repetitive.
I would recommend this book to middle school and high school students who are bored to tears of their history courses, and want to hear about something other than dates and battles and borders. Budding feminists may also be pleased with the new ammunition about how women have been erased from history.
This is a collection of stories about real-life princesses throughout history who made their marks, in one way or another. Several make power grabs, while others are known for being the true power behind the throne, or for their madness. There are some warriors, all from non-European backgrounds. Many of the stories are about princesses in the last century or so, known for a certain wildness.
The book's strength is that it covers a lot of different cultures. There are princesses from every continent but Australia and South America. It could've stuck to just European royalty, but the variety fills in a lot of gaps of my own knowledge of history. Two North American princesses are discussed, in very different terms due to their very different approaches to the white conquerors.
While this does go a long way toward showing us where the women were in history, it's not without its faults. The book uses "gypsy" to describe people of Romani heritage, and doesn't question the stereotyped views thereof. It also takes a modern approach to beauty, scoffing at descriptions of plump princesses as attractive and describing all of the European princesses in terms of their looks. The Asian, African, and Native American, apparently, weren't worth considering. Last, it often presents the mythologized stories of these royals for several paragraphs before cutting in to say that's not true, that this is how it really happened.
This book was a decent way to make history interesting and relevant to me. It adds on to my high school courses about dead white guys. But, as a primary resource, it's lacking. I think it's a good jumping-off point for discovering about different people and cultures, but it's not detailed enough. It is a fun read, though the last third felt rather repetitive.
I would recommend this book to middle school and high school students who are bored to tears of their history courses, and want to hear about something other than dates and battles and borders. Budding feminists may also be pleased with the new ammunition about how women have been erased from history.
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
I listened to the audio book version. The stories of the the princesses were interesting but I would have been better served by reading the book to gain a better sense of structure. The premise of the book is that to help our daughters not be influenced by princesses here are some tales of real princesses. However, most of them are not stories suitable for children, although I found them interesting.
My favorite story was that of New Martyr St. Yelizaveta Fyodorovna, who was martyred by the Russian revolutionaries, and had an extraordinary life of faith. So while she didn't have a fairy-tale ending, certainly wasn't a princess behaving badly.
I borrowed the audio book from Pima Community Library.
My favorite story was that of New Martyr St. Yelizaveta Fyodorovna, who was martyred by the Russian revolutionaries, and had an extraordinary life of faith. So while she didn't have a fairy-tale ending, certainly wasn't a princess behaving badly.
I borrowed the audio book from Pima Community Library.