Customer Reviews

Countess Dracula

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm always grateful to find a book handling E. Bathory's story in a sensible manner, since you find plenty of trashy things written about her.
To me, the book Countess Dracula seems carefully researched, it's also good that the Countess' story gets related with the turbulent history of her country in her times.Also, the book shows that Bathory's story can be read in different ways(concerning her motives for murder, e.g.). And her character is very difficult to access.

Another book I definitely recommend about her is "Heroine des Grauens", edited by M. Farin. It has just bee re-edited, unfortunately I've not heard of an English version of it (it's written in German).

Exhaustively researched, fascinatingly detailed history of one of the most reviled characters in history, Countess Elisabeth Bathory(1560-1614). Bathory was a Hungarian Countess accused of the torture and murder of as many as 650 maids during the first decade of the 17th century. She was placed under house arrest in 1610 and died after four years of solitary confinement. She was the wealthiest woman of her time, richer than the King of Hungary even, who owed her a substantial debt through her late husband, Ferencz Nadasdy. Thorne chronicles her life and times through letters, trial documents, and the motives of those closest to the case, including her sons-in-law and Palatine (Prime Minister) Thurzo. The little-known fact that Thurzo's wife Elizabeth, a cousin to Bathory, finds herself accused of similar crimes after Thurzo's death in 1616 by the new Palatine casts doubt on Bathory's own guilt. The same Elizabeth Czobor Thurzo was allowed to pilfer Bathory's jewelry while Bathory was under arrest half a dozen years earlier. Thorne takes the account of the four servants accused of being Bathory's accomplices and subjects their testimony to twentieth-century legal scrutiny. All four servants were tortured (twice) and executed while the Countess was never formally charged. The only minor complaint I have is that Thorne seems a tad too incredulous about the scope of Bathory's sadism. I wish he had included other examples of female serial killers (Russian Countess Darya Saltykova, South American La Quintralla, American Delphine LaLaurie, etc.) in history to give the prosecution side a little more credence.

This book is a fairly well written and extremely well researched account of Elisabeth Bathory's life and times. Thorne discusses the Bathory myths and legends, then delves deep into the archives of eastern Europe to find and translate firsthand accounts, letters, and reports from the trials. Thorne presents all the possibilities: was Bathory a sadistic murderess as accused? Or was she simply a woman with a lot of power and money and some big political enemies who wanted her out of the way? Thorne doesn't draw any definite conclusions, but he looks at evidence from all sides. He also presents research onto the lifestyle of Hungarian aristocrats in Bathory's day, giving us a window into what her life may have been like and providing some reasons and explanations for her "crimes".

This is definitely more of a scholarly account than a mass-market page turner--the book is extensively end-noted and includes a substantial bibliography, and the language is much more scholarly than not. Still, though, if you're interested in the subject matter, this is a pretty darn definitive survey.

this book is great. There is a lot from the history. I like that.