Bathory: Memoir of a Countess [Paperback]

A. Mordeaux (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2, 2008

The legend of Elizabeth Bathory has captivated generations, but her true persona eludes many. She has been called the most renowned serial killer of her time, accused of torturing and murdering more than 600 people. Conflicted, wanton, and sadistic in nature, was Elizabeth the result of generations of inbreeding? Was she a twisted byproduct of an archaic environment? Or was she merely a victim of a political conspiracy? Travel back in time and explore her story, told in her own voice, and discover the many facets of Countess Elizabeth Bathory.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: BookSurge Publishing (August 2, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439201749
• ISBN-13: 978-1439201749
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #595,465 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, an entertaining resource about Elizabeth Bathory!, August 6, 2008

By 

Isabelle Montgomery - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bathory: Memoir of a Countess (Paperback)

I was thrilled to see another book about the Blood Countess. Out of all the books that are available about her, I think this is the most historically-accurate and entertaining.

The book begins early in Elizabeth's life at Castle Ecsed. Elizabeth is a product of generations of endogamy within her politically powerful family. She sees and experiences more than a child of her age should ever have to know.

The story moves on to her teen years, where she encounters her first love -- resulting in pregnancy, in spite of her betrothal to Baron Ferencz Nadasdy. She is sent away to her strict future mother-in-law's home. After she gives birth, Elizabeth is married to Ferencz.

Elizabeth's servants keep her well-entertained with the torture of girls, sex and occult rituals during Ferencz's long stretches of time away. The wars with the Ottoman Turks are never-ending and bloody, and Ferencz is occupied for many years, with few breaks. Elizabeth and Ferencz have five children, two of which are stillborn. As if the deaths of her children are not enough, more relatives die, leaving Elizabeth with the pain of their loss.

When Ferencz's dies, Elizabeth moves to Castle Cachtice. She is an astute businesswoman, and she runs her estates well. To bring in revenue, and also a stream of noble blood, she opens a school of manners for noble girls, which becomes successful and is lauded by much of the Hungarian aristocracy. Debts owed to Elizabeth by King Matthias go unpaid. When Elizabeth complains to the king about repayment, she finds herself arrested and persecuted, with the help of some of her own relatives.

The book ends with a clever twist, a plausible one that historians may have never considered. Well researched, and richly told.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Kept my interest, intriguing story, December 5, 2008

By 

GothFlowerz - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bathory: Memoir of a Countess (Paperback)

I thought this book was well researched and thoughtfully told. Everything I've read about Bathory to date has been a let down, including Valentine Penrose's book, The Bloody Countess (which is all over the place and difficult to absorb since it's a translation), and Andrei Codrescu's book, The Blood Countess (weird contemporary story wound around a poorly told historical theme). Memoir of a Countess stays on track with Bathory's life, and gives us an intriguing point of view of history, and also invites the reader to consider all of the bad press Bathory has received over the centuries. I give this book 4 stars, and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning more about Elizabeth Bathory.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Ouch., October 25, 2009

By 

M. Jacobsen "I am not young enough to know ev... (Through the Looking Glass) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bathory: Memoir of a Countess (Paperback)

I picked this one out because I've been interested in the Countess of Bathory for some time and it's difficult to find too many books about this woman. Misinformation abounds everywhere and this book has seized on every unlikely rumor in a seeming effort just to shock the reader.

Really, this is a low-grade pornography/BDSM book which is being marketed as historical fiction. Not that I have any problem with explicitly sexual/violent books, I just prefer that they advertise the fact first.

Given that there is little actually known about the Countess other than legend, the author can be forgiven for writing whatever off-the-wall rumor about the woman they came across. It's fiction, after all. It's just that 90% of the book was spent trying to make the next violent/sexual scene more shocking (and nauseating) than the last.

Other obvious historical errors were involved....for example, influenza was not even remotely identified as such until the early 1700s, yet it is diagnosed in this book some 200 years before. Little things like that, which wouldn't be a big deal were not the novel lacking in other ways.

Dialogue is written in a painfully modern vernacular, which doesn't help things either. I'm pretty sure the Countess's husband never observed that she seemed "stressed." Grrrrr.

All in all, I'd skip this one if I were you, although I wish I had a good Bathory historical fiction novel to direct you to instead. I'm still looking for that myself. If you find you can't resist, this may be a library checkout instead?