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A review by xandra_lyn
The Dark Queens: The Bloody Rivalry That Forged the Medieval World by Shelley Puhak
dark
informative
tense
medium-paced
3.5
This was a hard book to rate. Basically, the story writes itself - the author simply accumulated the known writings of these two queens and put it into a book.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture
Minor: Death
Death: there's a lot of people who are killed
Torture: quite a few torture methods are briefly described.