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466 reviews for:
Princesses Behaving Badly: Real Stories from History Without the Fairy-Tale Endings
Linda Rodríguez McRobbie
3.6 AVERAGE
466 reviews for:
Princesses Behaving Badly: Real Stories from History Without the Fairy-Tale Endings
Linda Rodríguez McRobbie
3.6 AVERAGE
So many cool stories of historical female badasses. I think it’s awesome to read about women who wouldn’t accept their society’s or culture’s beliefs about who they were supposed to become/ could become. Some of the women in these stories were not good people, and some were trailblazers for females and other minority populations of the generations to follow. This includes a good mix of history, legend, and mythology. A really empowering and eye opening book.
adventurous
funny
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Having recently read [b:Bygone Badass Broads: 52 Forgotten Women Who Changed the World|35888416|Bygone Badass Broads 52 Forgotten Women Who Changed the World|Mackenzi Lee|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1508951259s/35888416.jpg|57405017] as well as [b:Rad Women Worldwide: Artists and Athletes, Pirates and Punks, and Other Revolutionaries Who Shaped History|28502749|Rad Women Worldwide Artists and Athletes, Pirates and Punks, and Other Revolutionaries Who Shaped History|Kate Schatz|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1460671020s/28502749.jpg|48656093], this book trumped both of these books in terms of depth of research, lack of bias, and the tendency not to include speculation or material that cannot be substantiated by primary sources.
There was a small overlap in 2-3 woman highlighted in [b:Bygone Badass Broads: 52 Forgotten Women Who Changed the World|35888416|Bygone Badass Broads 52 Forgotten Women Who Changed the World|Mackenzi Lee|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1508951259s/35888416.jpg|57405017], but other than that, the women were those who have tended to be forgotten by history or not well-known, particularly outside their country of origin.
I disagree with some other reviewers that this wasn't a "serious" history book. While this book certainly wasn't written in the tone of a scholarly article and was told more in the form of a Hollywood tell-all, that doesn't make the stories of the women any less interesting. Many of these women's lives were multifaceted, even salacious at times. Their motives and alliances were sometimes questionable. None of these women could simply be summed up by "good" or "bad" and none of them should be judged based on their worst decision. And isn't that what we want from others judging us as well?
This book is the perfect book for those who say history is boring. I dare anyone to read about these women and not be entertained or find someone they could empathize with.
There was a small overlap in 2-3 woman highlighted in [b:Bygone Badass Broads: 52 Forgotten Women Who Changed the World|35888416|Bygone Badass Broads 52 Forgotten Women Who Changed the World|Mackenzi Lee|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1508951259s/35888416.jpg|57405017], but other than that, the women were those who have tended to be forgotten by history or not well-known, particularly outside their country of origin.
I disagree with some other reviewers that this wasn't a "serious" history book. While this book certainly wasn't written in the tone of a scholarly article and was told more in the form of a Hollywood tell-all, that doesn't make the stories of the women any less interesting. Many of these women's lives were multifaceted, even salacious at times. Their motives and alliances were sometimes questionable. None of these women could simply be summed up by "good" or "bad" and none of them should be judged based on their worst decision. And isn't that what we want from others judging us as well?
This book is the perfect book for those who say history is boring. I dare anyone to read about these women and not be entertained or find someone they could empathize with.
I usually forget how much I love reading history until I come across a really interesting volume, and this fits the bill. I learned so much about princesses/royals who were greatly maligned, either by history or lore. Olga of Kiev is my new queen of spite. I just wish the author had taken a bit more care in her discussions of mental illness.
adventurous
challenging
reflective
fast-paced
This is a great springboard for choosing different historical women's biographies or to research. Starts inspiring, but toward the end it's so sad - so many of these women led entire lives with few allies or support. Overall a good read and I want more like it! Most of them had husbands or relatives we had to learn every mundane detail about in school, while these more resilient and interesting people were pushed aside.
Awful not just because it reads like a faux feminist huffpo fluff piece but includes the general idea that “Kate Middleton is like sooooo two dimensional but this one princess who was a Nazi collaborator was so resilient and glamorous!”
Two stars because it provided a list of princesses I’d like to research further in books not written like this one.
Two stars because it provided a list of princesses I’d like to research further in books not written like this one.
informative
fast-paced
The book reads somewhere between a Buzzfeed article and Mental Floss list. The stories are only a few pages long, without detailed information. The author was pretty focused on trying to sound witty through use of "synonyms" (often using offensive phrases - referring to Native Americans as Indians or those with mental illness as "unhinged") so a lot of the text is just creative rephrasing of previous sentences. It was an easy read (I work in a call center and was able to easily read the book while taking calls every minute or so) and definitely nothing to go out of your way for.