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Review
"A smart, sassy overview of the 'dark side' of the crown and scepter. It makes a girl glad she was born a commoner."
--Robin Maxwell, bestselling author of Mademoiselle Boleyn
"A fascinating journey through thousands of years of the world's most dangerous job -- being queen!"
--Eleanor Herman, author of Sex with the Queen
--Robin Maxwell, bestselling author of Mademoiselle Boleyn
"A fascinating journey through thousands of years of the world's most dangerous job -- being queen!"
--Eleanor Herman, author of Sex with the Queen
Product Description
Illicit love, madness, betrayal--it isn’t always good to be the queen
Marie Antoinette, Anne Boleyn, and Mary, Queen of Scots. What did they have in common? For a while they were crowned in gold, cosseted in silk, and flattered by courtiers. But in the end, they spent long nights in dark prison towers and were marched to the scaffold where they surrendered their heads to the executioner. And they are hardly alone in their undignified demises. Throughout history, royal women have had a distressing way of meeting bad ends--dying of starvation, being burned at the stake, or expiring in childbirth while trying desperately to produce an heir. They always had to be on their toes and all too often even devious plotting, miraculous pregnancies, and selling out their sisters was not enough to keep them from forcible consignment to religious orders. From Cleopatra (suicide by asp), to Princess Caroline (suspiciously poisoned on her coronation day), there’s a gory downside to being blue-blooded when you lack a Y chromosome. Kris Waldherr’s elegant little book is a chronicle of the trials and tribulations of queens across the ages, a quirky, funny, utterly macabre tribute to the dark side of female empowerment. Over the course of fifty irresistibly illustrated and too-brief lives, Doomed Queens charts centuries of regal backstabbing and intrigue. We meet well-known figures like Catherine of Aragon, whose happy marriage to Henry VIII ended prematurely when it became clear that she was a starter wife--the first of six. And we meet forgotten queens like Amalasuntha, the notoriously literate Ostrogoth princess who overreached politically and was strangled in her bath. While their ends were bleak, these queens did not die without purpose. Their unfortunate lives are colorful cautionary tales for today’s would-be power brokers--a legacy of worldly and womanly wisdom gathered one spectacular regal ruin at a time.
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Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Doomed...but Excellent!,
By
This review is from: Doomed Queens: Royal Women Who Met Bad Ends, From Cleopatra to Princess Di (Paperback)
Kris Waldherr, author and illustrator of Doomed Queens- Royal Women Who Met Bad Ends From Cleopatra to Princess Di , has created an-all around engaging and entertaining historical read. Beautifully illustrated, the dreamy-eyed queens, accompanied by their fellow skeletons, meet their final tragic fate; recollected in this captivating book.Not only does this novel tell us about the lives of these queens, it does so in a concise, yet complete, summary of events that takes us back to that particular time in history. Despite the dark finales (after all, the book's about 'doomed queens'), Kris Waldherr's writing style is upbeat and witty, making it so much fun to read, you just won't be able to put it down. I loved the way the author was able to keep me interested in every queen by keeping it brief, filled with information and detailed with lovely illustrations to complement the scene. The 'Cautionary Moral' at the end of every story is hilarious as well as to the point. This book is definitely a wonderful initiation for anyone who would like to begin learning about important historical figures. It's especially important to note that this book is unique in its conception. First of all, it's very rare to see a book this original in its creativity-would you believe that the front and back covers are actually 'queen cut-outs'? This book is completely interactive. It contains a Graphic key to explain the cause of each queen's death; an illustrated timeline; an historical explanation sidebar in every chapter, as well as a quiz; queens' quotes; the method of death and so much more. The grand finale of this book is the quiz that you take for yourself to know whether you too, are a doomed queen!Very special. From the introduction, p.7 'Welcome to your favorite dream - and worst nightmare. You are cosseted in silk, crowned with gold, and bowed to. Courtiers laugh at your jokes and compliment your beauty, even when you know you're having a bad hair day. All envy you, but things change! No matter how your end finally arrives, one truth remains: Your fall from grace is not your call, though your actions may encourage it. It is your fate. After all, you are a doomed queen- and, if one is to go by the lessons of history, the only good queen is a dead one.' -It's definitely one of a kind! [...]
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Courtesy of Teens Read Too,
By TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Doomed Queens: Royal Women Who Met Bad Ends, From Cleopatra to Princess Di (Paperback)
DOOMED QUEENS recounts the tales of numerous unfortunate queens.Some of these women died unhappily in exile or imprisoned, while others met more unfortunate ends such as suicide or assassination. Readers will meet over fifty queens who met their doom. The timeline of queens discussed range from the biblical era of Athaliah to modern day Princess Diana. They are arranged by time periods and drafted in short and often humorous biographical information. How would their lives have been different if they had been male? A wonderful, entertaining non-fiction book for those curious about royalty, or a perfect sidekick for a fairy tale or royal novel. Reviewed by: Jennifer Rummel
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.8 out of 5 stars (35 customer reviews) 12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
More than a book ...,
By Bonnie Cehovet - Published on Amazon.com
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This review is from: Doomed Queens: Royal Women Who Met Bad Ends, From Cleopatra to Princess Di (Paperback)
As usual with Kris Waldherr's work, this book is thoroughly researched, and presented with a certain panache. Each of these queen's stories has been thoroughly researched, and presented with enough detail to keep the reader interested. Each story is personal ... we are not reading one story ad nauseum, with different names attached.The toen of the writing is a tad bit tongue in cheek, with a small cautionary moral at the end of each presentation. (For instance, with Eva Peron the cautionary moral is "You can't rule fromt he grave.") The pages themselves are made to look "old", and the graphics on the front cover simply draw you in without your knowing why. There is a bonus in that a flap on both the front and back covers contains three "paper doll" figures of different queens, with background available from the Doomed Queens Internet site. Can we as women learn from this book? Yes - this book reflects not only the history of the queens, but the history of the world - with all of its political, religious, and paternalistic overtones. A good read, and food for thought. 18 of 20 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wild about Doomed!,
By Artist & Reader "MK" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Doomed Queens: Royal Women Who Met Bad Ends, From Cleopatra to Princess Di (Paperback)
I'm a history buff and I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked up "Doomed Queens" by Kris Waldherr. But I loved it and really found it hard to put down--the profiles of these women were humorous, well-researched and informative. The writing is rich with queenly anecdotes and the kind of detail that I love.The overarching theme of how women were often pawns in the power struggles of men becomes a scenario of sadness, so beyond the humor there are other points that are made. Doomed in that they often were caught up in forces beyond their control, Waldherr covers the big names like Anne Boleyn and comes up with a whole roster of fascinating figures not often mentioned in history books. But this book also has a "guilty pleasure" quality to it with the icons of death and the pithy morals at the end of each vignette. I can recommend this enthusiastically and I'm sure it would make a fine gift for the history, historical fiction or "Tudors" fan on your holiday list! 6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Doomed if You Do, Doomed if You Don't!,
By Kort "Art, Music, Book & Movie Enthusiast" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Doomed Queens: Royal Women Who Met Bad Ends, From Cleopatra to Princess Di (Paperback)
For those guilty pleasure seekers, this book is for you!Talk about a good, fun read, Waldherr's collection of "royal women who met bad ends" is packed with enticing tidbits that reveal the dark side of royalty and privilege in an ever volatile world. Waldherr does an excellent job choosing her queens carefully, with the inclusion of monarchs from across time and cultures; some readily identifiable (i.e., Jane Seymour, Eva Peron, Princess Diana), and some lost in the abstract vaults of long lost empires. The poignancy lies within their stories and the universal nature of their fascinating experiences. No one is spared in this assembly of matriarchs, whose untimely deaths are often as pathetic as their supposed fortunate circumstances. It's not good to be the queen is the underlying message that binds these ill-fated royal women together. Waldherr presents each queen in a concise format that is compelling, entertaining and never boring. In fact, you will have a hard time putting this book down. You can retrieve nougats of tantalizing information by poring over the many eye-catching sidebars, anecdotes, accurate-looking illustrations, easy to read icons indicating manner of death (oooh, I loved these little death symbols!) along with a fun end-of-book quiz and even Doomed Queen paper dolls. The stories end with cautionary morals: these summations effectively inject humor and enable the reader to identify with the very human foibles/limitations that were precursors to the queens' demise. Despite their status, leadership and often rich and opulent surroundings, they could not escape the grim reaper and the equalizing swing of his scythe, or guillotine! This book is for history buffs with its wealth of interesting details as well as anyone inclined to explore the evils of actual persons and events. The book is nicely packaged as a glossy trade and can be easily carried anywhere. That's good because it is the type of addictive read you'll want to peek inside over and over again. |
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