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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
Interesting, fun, easy, and quick read. There was a good mix of famous and unknown women, and a good mix of life stories and circumstances. I appreciated that the author could discuss promiscuity without slut-shaming, mental illness without offense, and even vanity without giving any credit to stereotypes of dumb, shallow women. I also liked seeing the few non-European women who were included.
Definitely worth a read if you have an interest in history / royalty / badass women / gender norms.
Definitely worth a read if you have an interest in history / royalty / badass women / gender norms.
This was a really interesting book. I've read a lot of these books about forgotten women of history [though never one centered solely on princesses] so there is always a certain amount of overlap but I would say this one was still at least half or possibly more about women that I didn't know much of anything about. The mini biographies were very easy to read and also very informative, and I liked that she presented both good and bad qualities from the women featured. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about women in history.
Well this read more like a magazine article than a book, but interesting profiles nonetheless. I was annoyed that some of the "princesses" were just myths, not actual people. But anything to tear down that princess obsession in our culture is A-OK in my book.
funny
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
informative
medium-paced
informative
O introducere in istoria tragica dar inedita a unor printese, personaje istorice, care probabil ca fara excentricitatile lor ar fi fost pierdute in negura uitarii, dar care merita sa fie macar remacarte
A good primer on female royalty of the world (especially Europe), but by necessity most of the accounts are oversimplified.
Read This Review & More Like It At Ageless Pages Reviews
An absolutely fascinating collection of “royal” women, though the title is a serious misnomer. This book actually collects empresses, khans, ranis, commoners posing as royals, and yes, some princesses. Many of them didn’t behave badly, just differently from the cultural norms of the time, though some were certainly wicked, (there are sections for usurpers and schemers, along with the floozies, partiers, madwomen, warriors, and survivors.) Sections are arranged chronologically, with each chapter serving as a mini biography of an individual woman who fits the section header.
Especially in the first chapters, the book features a lot of lesser known stories, mostly centered around women of color. This was extremely exciting, though a little concerning that there weren’t many modern examples. My favorite was Empress Wu and the effects of the patriarchy and revisionist history on her legacy. (In a similar vein, I also enjoyed the dissection of Lucrezia Borgia as a victim of the patriarchy and not the “slutty poisoner” her family’s enemies have tried to paint her as.) Additionally, Malinche and Sarah Winnemucca’s stories are heartbreaking and worryingly similar, despite being “traitors” to their indigenous peoples more than 300 years apart.
Some of the stories are little more than retellings of folktales, owed to the lack of real information on the women, while others are richly detailed and studied. I wish my advanced copy had included the bibliography, because I’d really love to see the research that went into the assertion that Juana la Loca was actually quite sane. (Another victim of men’s desire to control her and her lands.)
The fake princesses were something I was only vaguely aware of, which made for great fun to study. I’m just old enough to remember the DNA test that proved Franziska Schanzkowska was not the Grand Duchess Anastasia. Her real story is far more interesting and sad than the Don Bluth movie makes it sound. Princess Caraboo was funny in an absurd, people-believed-this? kind of way, though of course it’s also sad that she felt the need to go to such lengths for a place to stay. The Persian mummy is horrifying and happened in entirely too modern an era.
Written in a conversational tone, the book is extremely readable and a lot of fun, but it’s obvious that the author doesn’t want to trade in idle gossip. There are no stories of Empresses and their horses, no perpetuating women bathing in blood, (though Elisabeth of Austria may have worn veal,) and it’s clear she doesn’t believe rumors of incest or witchcraft in the Tudor courts. Frankly, it’s the most balanced of the “royal scandals” genre that I’ve encountered.
An absolutely fascinating collection of “royal” women, though the title is a serious misnomer. This book actually collects empresses, khans, ranis, commoners posing as royals, and yes, some princesses. Many of them didn’t behave badly, just differently from the cultural norms of the time, though some were certainly wicked, (there are sections for usurpers and schemers, along with the floozies, partiers, madwomen, warriors, and survivors.) Sections are arranged chronologically, with each chapter serving as a mini biography of an individual woman who fits the section header.
Especially in the first chapters, the book features a lot of lesser known stories, mostly centered around women of color. This was extremely exciting, though a little concerning that there weren’t many modern examples. My favorite was Empress Wu and the effects of the patriarchy and revisionist history on her legacy. (In a similar vein, I also enjoyed the dissection of Lucrezia Borgia as a victim of the patriarchy and not the “slutty poisoner” her family’s enemies have tried to paint her as.) Additionally, Malinche and Sarah Winnemucca’s stories are heartbreaking and worryingly similar, despite being “traitors” to their indigenous peoples more than 300 years apart.
Some of the stories are little more than retellings of folktales, owed to the lack of real information on the women, while others are richly detailed and studied. I wish my advanced copy had included the bibliography, because I’d really love to see the research that went into the assertion that Juana la Loca was actually quite sane. (Another victim of men’s desire to control her and her lands.)
The fake princesses were something I was only vaguely aware of, which made for great fun to study. I’m just old enough to remember the DNA test that proved Franziska Schanzkowska was not the Grand Duchess Anastasia. Her real story is far more interesting and sad than the Don Bluth movie makes it sound. Princess Caraboo was funny in an absurd, people-believed-this? kind of way, though of course it’s also sad that she felt the need to go to such lengths for a place to stay. The Persian mummy is horrifying and happened in entirely too modern an era.
Written in a conversational tone, the book is extremely readable and a lot of fun, but it’s obvious that the author doesn’t want to trade in idle gossip. There are no stories of Empresses and their horses, no perpetuating women bathing in blood, (though Elisabeth of Austria may have worn veal,) and it’s clear she doesn’t believe rumors of incest or witchcraft in the Tudor courts. Frankly, it’s the most balanced of the “royal scandals” genre that I’ve encountered.
I had fun reading about various princesses through history and mythology. I didn't mind the gossip magazine tone, it made for a good book to keep in the bathroom. I got to read about a variety of princesses that I'd never even heard of and got new information on princess stories that I knew. I would suggest it as a bit of light reading.