Rate this book

Royal Pains: A Rogues' Gallery Of Brats, Brutes, And Bad Seeds (2011)

by Leslie Carroll(Favorite Author)

3.61 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0451232216 (ISBN13: 9780451232212)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

NAL Trade

review 1: Briefly interesting entries on royal and loosely-royal "badly behaved" people. The author chose far too wide a category or definition of "bad seed." Vlad the Impaler, Lettice Knollys, and Princess Margaret do not belong in a book together for being difficult royalty. There were two, maybe three, loosely formed categories: the killers, likely mentally disturbed, and total sadists (King John, Vlad, Ivan the Terrible, Elizabeth Bathory, Archduke Rudolf); the embarrassments, usually for being a disappointment, challenging the social supremacy of a reining monarch, and libertine sexuality (Lettice Knollys, Prince Henry, Pauline Bonaparte, Prince Albert Victor, Princess Margaret); and a subset of embarrassments who tried to take over from their reining relation(s) (King John, Ge... moreorge Duke of Clarence).There's occasional interesting trivia, though I'm somewhat skeptical of some of the facts as nothing was directly cited. As other reviewers point out, the writing is in a modern conversational style, using terms like "BFF." That's a good indicator of just how seriously to take this as a reference - that is, very little. If not for some of the more graphic descriptions of Vlad the Impaler's and Countess Bathory's favored pastimes, I'd say this was geared toward a Young Adult audience.
review 2: I bet you thought I would never finish this book. Well, I didn't either, but I did! Just when you think you have heard/read/know it all, up jumps some new information. That was the case for me when I read this book. I had never really studied history in school so that's my excuse. Each chapter of the book is devoted to a different 'Royal Pain'. It is in chronological order, but really does not have to be read in that order. It was just good for me to be able to relate it to a familiar time period. Also, some of the 'Pains' were quiet violent. If you are prone to nightmares, read them only in the daytime. They are not for bedtime reading. I think you can figure out which ones by their nicknames given in parentheses, i.e. Vlad the Impaler, Ivan the Terrible, The Blood Countess.The only thing that I would have liked to have had included in the book were some pictures with each story. I had to go the Web every time I wanted to see the face that went with the person. Otherwise, it is a very informative book. I am glad that I read it...even if it took me a while to finish it. less

Download links for: Royal Pains: A Rogues' Gallery of Brats, Brutes, and Bad Seeds

Advertising