Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
Well, I am better read than I thought. Most of these historical women I knew about already. And sadly, much of the information had a wikipedia feel to it. I had hoped for something either more in depth or new information. Still, props must be given for at least pulling a wide range of historical princess information together.
As for behaving badly, well, that was disappointing too. I applaud the idea, but since I am either fighting a boy vs girl stereotype or pushing the more modern princess (Mulan, Tangled, etc), none of these stories were exactly inspiring for sharing with my 7 year old daughter. Perhaps when she is older, and mad that there is a dearth of strong women in written history. Except I think this is changing so rapidly . . . I guess it just feels like this book is for mums who are overly concerned about their daughter's penchant for pink dresses and horses. Meh.
The most intriguing "princess" was the last one mentioned, who has a couple books, and a BBC film, and probably a PBS special - so at least there is quality information to look up. And that rather redeems the whole book.
As for behaving badly, well, that was disappointing too. I applaud the idea, but since I am either fighting a boy vs girl stereotype or pushing the more modern princess (Mulan, Tangled, etc), none of these stories were exactly inspiring for sharing with my 7 year old daughter. Perhaps when she is older, and mad that there is a dearth of strong women in written history. Except I think this is changing so rapidly . . . I guess it just feels like this book is for mums who are overly concerned about their daughter's penchant for pink dresses and horses. Meh.
The most intriguing "princess" was the last one mentioned, who has a couple books, and a BBC film, and probably a PBS special - so at least there is quality information to look up. And that rather redeems the whole book.
Interesting premise; mediocre execution. Some entries are two paragraphs long, some are fictional. Author could have fleshed out some of the true tales - like Princess Winnemuca. Best female narrator ever - Cassandra Campbell!!
I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed this read. It was princesses for grownups and the writing was a fun and entertaining version of history. I would love if there were more in the series featuring kings, or presidents, etc.
Read my full thoughts over at Read.Write.Repeat.
McRobbie has taken it upon herself to reveal some royal history that is not nearly as glitzy as the Disney ideals. She writes, "these women were human, but the word princess, along with its myriad connotations, often glosses over that humanity." To remedy that, McRobbie collected stories of princesses, well, behaving badly. Madness, loose morals, rebellion, fighting - it's all there and it's all (pretty much) history.
I learned a lot and quite enjoyed myself along the way. It's an easy read, but a worthwhile one. If royal history or scandal interests you at all, I would recommend picking up the book for yourself.
McRobbie has taken it upon herself to reveal some royal history that is not nearly as glitzy as the Disney ideals. She writes, "these women were human, but the word princess, along with its myriad connotations, often glosses over that humanity." To remedy that, McRobbie collected stories of princesses, well, behaving badly. Madness, loose morals, rebellion, fighting - it's all there and it's all (pretty much) history.
I learned a lot and quite enjoyed myself along the way. It's an easy read, but a worthwhile one. If royal history or scandal interests you at all, I would recommend picking up the book for yourself.
The princesses concealed behind the pages of this book are not Disney or Fairy Tale princesses, there is not a single doubt about that.
The book is divided up into seven parts, as the author spends time writing about warrior princesses, usurping princesses, scheming princesses, princesses who were survivors, partying princesses, ‘floozy’ princesses and princesses who may or may not have been madwomen.
Some of the names found in the book were ones I already knew some, basic history on, such a Lucrezia Borgia, Wu Zetian or Hatshepsut – I knew who they were, but Princesses Behaving Badly shed more light on what they did, how they lived, and their accomplishments (or sometimes, their fall from accomplishment).
The book was a light, fun read, with each spotlighted princesses getting only a few pages in summary before we were moved on to the next misbehaving lady.
There were some princesses who I felt were unjustly put into the wrong category, for example – Gloria von Thurn und Taxis (that’s the shortened version of her name). She might have partied it hard and been rightfully placed in the ‘Partiers’ portion of the book, but Gloria’s story wasn’t just that of a princess who spent money, hosted parties and lived it loud and wild.
Reading about Gloria (who, honestly, might have been my favorite spotlighted princess in the whole book), her story was that of a survivor. She was an impoverished waitress with a useless royal heritage until she married Johannes von Thurn und Taxis. Yeah, Princesses Gloria lived it up in her youth, but she ended up becoming a businesswoman who saved the name of her husband’s lineage and preserved the von Thurn und Taxis heritage for her son.
But, that is almost the charm of the book.
I read a previous review that scolded the book for its lack of ‘feminist goggles’, especially in the floozies, madwomen and partiers categories. The reviewer claimed that Princesses Behaving Badly‘s author Linda Rodriguez McRobbie didn’t give enough grace and instead put these ‘poor women’ into categories of judgment – I found no judgment whatsoever, though.
McRobbie doesn’t take the time to explain the actions of the partying princesses or give a medical condition that might have caused the mad princesses to go insane. She doesn’t write about Stephanie von Hohenlohe (a princess who partied and socialized in order to spread Adolf Hitler’s influence) or Malinche (an Aztec princess who assisted Cortes and his men in taking Mexico and was the mother of Cortes’ son) in order to say “these women betrayed their people/worked for an evil regime, and that is why they are bad.”
In fact, McRobbie doesn’t ever paint a single woman in this book as wicked, evil or nefarious. Were their actions doubtable and likely nefarious? possibly. But McRobbie mentions again and again (especially with poor Lucrezia), that history is sometimes unfair in how it portrays women who acted outside of the status quo.
Did Lucrezia sleep with her brother?
Was she truly All That Bad?
McRobbie never says; instead, she tells you what we absolutely know about the lives of the women who were considered mad, witches, floozies or partiers, and then tells you what the public of the time was told to believe about these women – and lets you make the final decision.
McRobbie gives just the facts, and it shouldn’t be surprising, considering her day job is that of a reporter for various news outlets, and not a historian. She loves her topic, but she doesn’t sensualize it – she tells you as it was, what was what, and the rest? it’s up to you.
Were these princesses truly behaving badly? Or were they just victims to a mindset of the time that wanted them corsetted, quiet and gentle? Princesses Behaving Badly doesn’t make an attempt at answering those questions. It doesn’t condone every action and it doesn’t demonize the women who might have earned it.
My biggest complaint? Boudicae deserved more pages.
I would recommend this book for more mature readers. While the book never goes into explicit detail, it does discuss some princesses who were known for their “sexy exploits” and might be a bit above that of a young reader’s level. The writing style itself is simple, and an easy read and shouldn’t pose any difficulty for any level of mature readers.
The book is divided up into seven parts, as the author spends time writing about warrior princesses, usurping princesses, scheming princesses, princesses who were survivors, partying princesses, ‘floozy’ princesses and princesses who may or may not have been madwomen.
Some of the names found in the book were ones I already knew some, basic history on, such a Lucrezia Borgia, Wu Zetian or Hatshepsut – I knew who they were, but Princesses Behaving Badly shed more light on what they did, how they lived, and their accomplishments (or sometimes, their fall from accomplishment).
The book was a light, fun read, with each spotlighted princesses getting only a few pages in summary before we were moved on to the next misbehaving lady.
There were some princesses who I felt were unjustly put into the wrong category, for example – Gloria von Thurn und Taxis (that’s the shortened version of her name). She might have partied it hard and been rightfully placed in the ‘Partiers’ portion of the book, but Gloria’s story wasn’t just that of a princess who spent money, hosted parties and lived it loud and wild.
Reading about Gloria (who, honestly, might have been my favorite spotlighted princess in the whole book), her story was that of a survivor. She was an impoverished waitress with a useless royal heritage until she married Johannes von Thurn und Taxis. Yeah, Princesses Gloria lived it up in her youth, but she ended up becoming a businesswoman who saved the name of her husband’s lineage and preserved the von Thurn und Taxis heritage for her son.
But, that is almost the charm of the book.
I read a previous review that scolded the book for its lack of ‘feminist goggles’, especially in the floozies, madwomen and partiers categories. The reviewer claimed that Princesses Behaving Badly‘s author Linda Rodriguez McRobbie didn’t give enough grace and instead put these ‘poor women’ into categories of judgment – I found no judgment whatsoever, though.
McRobbie doesn’t take the time to explain the actions of the partying princesses or give a medical condition that might have caused the mad princesses to go insane. She doesn’t write about Stephanie von Hohenlohe (a princess who partied and socialized in order to spread Adolf Hitler’s influence) or Malinche (an Aztec princess who assisted Cortes and his men in taking Mexico and was the mother of Cortes’ son) in order to say “these women betrayed their people/worked for an evil regime, and that is why they are bad.”
In fact, McRobbie doesn’t ever paint a single woman in this book as wicked, evil or nefarious. Were their actions doubtable and likely nefarious? possibly. But McRobbie mentions again and again (especially with poor Lucrezia), that history is sometimes unfair in how it portrays women who acted outside of the status quo.
Did Lucrezia sleep with her brother?
Was she truly All That Bad?
McRobbie never says; instead, she tells you what we absolutely know about the lives of the women who were considered mad, witches, floozies or partiers, and then tells you what the public of the time was told to believe about these women – and lets you make the final decision.
McRobbie gives just the facts, and it shouldn’t be surprising, considering her day job is that of a reporter for various news outlets, and not a historian. She loves her topic, but she doesn’t sensualize it – she tells you as it was, what was what, and the rest? it’s up to you.
Were these princesses truly behaving badly? Or were they just victims to a mindset of the time that wanted them corsetted, quiet and gentle? Princesses Behaving Badly doesn’t make an attempt at answering those questions. It doesn’t condone every action and it doesn’t demonize the women who might have earned it.
My biggest complaint? Boudicae deserved more pages.
I would recommend this book for more mature readers. While the book never goes into explicit detail, it does discuss some princesses who were known for their “sexy exploits” and might be a bit above that of a young reader’s level. The writing style itself is simple, and an easy read and shouldn’t pose any difficulty for any level of mature readers.
Damsels in distress these ladies are not! After reading this hilarious compilation, I was inspired to do some additional research about the princesses whose stories are told in this book. McRobbie brings their stories to life in an amazing way. Highly enjoyable read.
I am not usually big on compilations like this, but I was pleasantly surprised here. Loved the premise of telling stories of real princesses to offset the Disney ideal.
This was a great beach read with its short chapters and segments about various "princesses" through history. Nicely researched and written with some spirit, this book didn't feel like a typical history or biography read.
funny
informative
fast-paced
Great book, but probably should have been titled: Princesses Living With Mental Illness.