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

This book should have been read by Lady Di, before she had wed her Prince! She would have known better then. She wouldn’t have childishly believed in happy ever afters.It was fun to read about different real life princesses. Short biographies were written in an engaging, funny style and I learned about some princesses I have never heard about before. At the same time after finishing the book I felt sad, most of these women had it tough! They lost their loved ones and fortunes, were mistreated, imprisoned, tortured, forced to marry, separated from their children, killed in a violent way… Not much to laugh about or to find a silver lining.

This is a wonderful book on two levels.First, a great historical non-fiction piece to learn about princesses in history, and some women who claim to have been princesses. Linda does a fantastic job of telling their stories. She also provides a great bibliography for you to explore and learn more. She covers the known (Princess Margaret, Mary Antoinette for example) and the unknown (you got to read the book to find out who they are).Second, a great resource for writers. If you're a writer and want your princess to do something unexpected, get ideas from these real women who did. It's a great stepping stone for learning about princesses.

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.

Too often we attach only the soft lens to look at the life of royalty and associate ball gown, tiaras and Prince Charming to the illusion, when it fact, being born female to the royal blanket very often meant being a victim of social and political whims. McRobbie has written a comprehensive study of thirty royal females throughout history and given life to their back story. In her easy, breezy style, she covers all types of women, from warrior to schemers to women that were mentally unstable. From the obscure to the well known, she does not waste time on the obvious, but chose women who's stories have been lost to history. I enjoyed her writing, her witty observations, and though I knew many of these royals, I learned quite a bit about the ones I never heard of. I wish she had included portraits of the girls in the later centuries. The book was a great treatment of the hidden horror of being born into a life in the spotlight and how choice or sometimes the lack of, can be the downfall of even the most privileged. My absolute favorite had to be the Punk Princess, who I had never read about. Her growth from entitled partier to responsible parent and businesswoman was as interesting as it was inspiring. Even without her prince,she made her own happy ending come true.

This was a great read! I learned many new quirks about some of the princesses; and fun and fascinating insights into a lot of princesses really going wild, crazy, or even just nuts! The chapter on the Russian princess Anastasia was familiar to me, but the author included many more great details. And, the chapter on Queen Elizabeth's sister, Margaret, and a bank robbery was an interesting case (well, new to me!). I had heard about that bank robbery, but not from that angle.If you want good gossip about princesses (who are held to a higher ideal than most) but run amok among us, grab this book and settle in for good, juicy gossip!

Wow. Very thorough and enlightening, what an adventure. The reading was personable considering it's somewhat heavy history. I am a slight history fan (not a buff by any means), and I was pleased. There were such a variety of common and less common historical figures; I definitely didn't know them all. The features you'll love most are how personable it is, and perfect details. I was highly satisfied, I consider this book a gem, and you'll definitely enjoy it.

Interesting!

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.

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

Very well written adn a real interesting read.

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!

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!