Princesses Behaving Badly: Real Stories from History Without the Fairy-Tale Endings Kindle Edition

Review first published on jenasbookreviews.blogspot.comA collection of mini-biographies of princesses through history that did not behave in what one might call "typical princess" fashion. The book is divided into sections based on how the princesses deviated from the standard we think of and then each had a handful of biographies that fit into that heading.I wanted to like this more than I did and in the beginning, I was really enjoying it. I liked hearing about the Warrior Princesses who would not marry a man unless they could best them or charging into battle or running away from marriage to become a pirate. Those seemed well-researched and if short, offered what felt like a good overall mini-biography. As the book progressed through, it started feeling much more like a gossip magazine with just pulling out the juicy bits as much as possible, maybe with a few possible explanations thrown in but not expounded upon, and then giving entries with 1-2 paragraphs on other notable women that could go under the section titles. The tone seemed to change a bit as well with the earlier princesses getting a more matter of fact tone and then it switching to a more "you know what I mean, wink wink" kind of tone as things progressed into the "scandalous" sections. It felt like a juvenile way of handling the material. In all, I just wasn't impressed and won't be looking further into this author.

Damsels in distress these ladies are not. After reading this hilarious compilation, I looked up some of the ladies mentioned and their stories are accurate in Ms McRobbie's book, but she brings their stories to life in an amazing way. Young teen girls might find this inspiring, since most of these amazing women don't fit today's description of "pretty princesses."

I normally enjoy books of this nature. While Princesses Behaving Badly isn't a "bad" book, I did find it lacking in certain aspects.While the author includes a lot of princesses, there is scant information about each one. The writing is intelligent but not engaging. If there had been more written on each princess, or even more personality injected, I would have been driven to search out more books/information about the princesses.As is, the book is a three star read for me.

Some of these I was familiar with, some I had never heard of. That was a nice mix. The chapters helped the organization. I will want to learn more about some of these women, for their challenges and their successes. History doesn't record enough about the ladies .....maybe people will start paying more attention.

I was curious about this book and bought it in an impulse. I really enjoyed this book and made my thoughts wondered on certain people who were just victims or just defamed due to the circumstances of that period of time. There were several stories of certain princesses that I was familiar with, but Rodriguez McRobbie did a fully extended research on certain princesses I haven't heard of starting from the Viking era to 21st century princesses. Her conclusion to the book was made clear, everyone dies at the end, only some of them more heroic or tragically.

The title lured me in, the content let me down. When I read the first story about Alfhide, I thought I was reading a Wikipedia entry. There was no depth to it. I hoped that the detail of the stories would improve on more recent stories, but only marginally. The subjects were interesting women, whose stories are fascinating, but the sparse details didn't do the stories justice.

I've always wanted to read "behind the scenes" stories of famous and infamous princesses and queens. Easy reading, taking you through centuries and nations you would not have heard of if you hadn't picked up this book. One omission (in my opinion) is Princess Swietoslawa of Poland, who is known in Scandinavian lore under several names (Siegrid, Grunhilda, Storrada and others) who married the King Erik of Sweden, then later, the King Sweyn Forkbeard of Norway/Denmark/England. The mother of Knut the Great --- she wasn't called "The Haughty" for nothing.

This was a quick easy read which was both good and bad. Some stories I really wanted more of and some I had heard before like Empress Elizabeth -but wouldn't have minded hearing more. There were some stories to that seemed to reveal in the fact that the women could be just as awful as the men or confuse bad behavior with the possibility of severe mental health problems.I think my favorite though was Alfhid the pirate Princess and the first story in the book although some of the more modern Princesses were as interesting in a different way. All in all it's a good book I just wish it was a little more in-depth. Despite the fascinating personalities it really does boil all of them down into short recaps about their lives.

Interesting and amusing perfect nightstand book to help unwind at the end of the day.

I loved this book, I felt that it was very interesting and informative.Each Princess only had a small section but it's left me looking forward to finding out more abut them!

Very well written adn a real interesting read.

Some very interesting, brave smart, funny down right loopy gals, good read nice jacket cover, amazing what male history writers leave out

Bad princesses abound in this wonderful book that brings them all together from different parts of history and from around the world. This ain't your Disney Princesses but real historical women who fought for they're rights thru any means at their disposal. A great read for historical buffs who enjoy a little murder, poisoning and the occasional beheading. Just be warned the princesses are not always the victims!

Ein tolles Buch, dass einem unterschiedliche Frauen aus den unterschiedlichsten Jahrhunderten und Kulturkreisen näher bringt.Gut recherchiert und durch die recht kurzen Kapitel sehr kurzweilig zum lesen.

Excellent

Ces histoires d'époques diverses sont traitées ici dans des récits plus ou moins détaillés. Beaucoup m'étaient inconnues et je les ai trouvées intéressantes et divertissantes.

Not my kind of book but my daughter loved it.

Schnelle Lieferung.. super Buch

It was an interesting read, each princess summed up fairly quickly with the details of their story outlined for you, many I hade t even heard of which was nice. The great thing about this book is she introduces you to them and their stories and if you like it you can look them up in more detail yourself. A fun read, I love the fact that it shines a real spotlight on what it is to be a princess rather then the Disney version we are supposed to believe.