Customer Reviews

Doomed Queens: Royal Women Who Met Bad Ends, From Cleopatra to Princess Di

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

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!

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.

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.

Kris Walherr has created herself 176 pages of nonfiction wonder. She claims this book to be "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." I would have to say that I couldn't agree more. I so thoroughly enjoyed this book that I read it in one night. The book contains over 50 mini-bios of women from biblical times to modern, including Cleopatra, Boudicca, four of Henry VIII's wives, Marie Antoinette, and Princess Di. The book has fascinating, relevant quotes, and sarcastic "quizzes" and side notes. In the front, there is a "doomed queens" timeline and author-drawn illustrations that each contain "death" in them somewhere. It's like a morbid "Where's Waldo?"

Each queen is categorized by her means of death. You have your usual - beheaded, deposed, or died in childbirth, but you also have assassination, poison, drowned, strangled, and starved to death - to name a few. Each story also has contains a "moral" -

"Don't marry a man in love with another man."
"Avoid boats rowed by your enemies."
"Have an exit strategy."
"Don't let your education make you stupid."
"There are no rules for love."
"Don't mess around on the king."

Those are a few of my favorites :). This book is very educational, but also immensely entertaining. And remember, "those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

There are also "doomed queens" paper dolls, scenery, scaffolds, and other extras at [...]

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

It's not easy being queen, as well we know from stories of Anne Boleyn and Marie Antoinette. Kris Waldherr recounts fifty tales of queens that met unfortunate endings, including Alexandra Romanov and Mary Stuart to some lesser known stories, such as Queen Anula from Sri Lanka who murdered four consorts, including two kings. Her end was met when she was trapped in the palace and set on fire.

Waldherr brings wry humor and funny anecdotes for each tale, as well as, artwork throughout. It's a great, short read that will keep you engaged, while providing some very interesting little tidbits of knowledge. Highly recommended to all lovers of history!!

Amy Says: 5 / 5

We have all probably heard the sermon: "those who do not learn from history are bound to repeat it." Kris Waldherr exposes this truism with biting candor in her appropriately titled Doomed Queens. Part cautionary tale, part biography, Doomed Queens is chock full of regal queens meeting not-so enviable ends. Readers will find all their favorite femme fatales like Anne Boleyn, Marie Antoinette, and Mary Queen of Scots, but also lesser known figures such as Empress Wang and Theodora of Trebizond. Waldherr reminds us, "too often history is written by the victors." So true. For this reason, readers will be captivated by Arsinoe IV, the Jan Brady of history--pushed aside by her more cunning sister, Cleopatra. Then there is Juana of Castile who emerges from the shadow of her powerful parents, Ferdinand and Isabella to show how things really went down in the power struggle for the throne. hint: it doesn't end pretty. In each biography, Waldherr shows how herstory doesn't always end as happily as history.

There are so many doomed queens included that you might have a hard time keeping their deaths straight. No worries. Waldherr offers handy icons to accompany each tale symbolizing everything from death by child birth to a date with the executioner. Each biography ends with an irreverent "cautionary moral" that may especially appeal to teens tired of pedantic conclusions in their history lessons. What can we learn from Sophia Alekseyevna, the disaffected, half-sister of Peter the Great? Perhaps it is as simple as, "the best candidate doesn't always get the job." What does Marie Antoinette's bucolic stint as a milkmaid tell us? "When you play at being a peasant, you risk being killed by one."

Humorous quizzes and pithy sidebars add an extra level of intrigue for readers who have shorter attention spans while Waldherr's haunting illustrations suspiciously circle each queen like a macabre dance of death. Look closer and you will find ghoulish memento mori peeking out from behind each delicately rendered portrait. Could this be a reminder? Perhaps current examples of distaff corporate climbers and policy makers can be made a head shorter with as much disregard. (ah hem...Palin)

But don't let the title fool you. Although undeniable a morose angle taken, at the heart of Doomed Queens is not how queens died, but how they lived. Did Joan the I of Naples deserve the same fate as her husband? Why was the deposed Irene of Byzantium a candidate for sainthood? It's these types of questions that will have book clubs, classrooms, royalty aficionados and modern-day divas talking.

I actually recieved this book as a birthday present and it really is the gift that keeps on giving! I am a huge fan of historical non-fictions and fictions and this book has been such a pleasure to read. Its one of those books thats difficult to put down and you can read over and over agin.

Its insightful and clever and Waldherr does a great job on adding a touch of dark humor; not to mention the great illistrations and the paper dolls on the flaps!

The best part about Doomed Queens is that you don't have to be into history to enjoy it and it would make a great gift for any woman.

This a lightweight mix of history and humor that is clearly aimed at women. Covering both well known and lesser known figures, it stretches the term "queen" to include Eva Peron and Diana Spencer. The text is broken up with so-so illustrations and many sidebars , including a recurring one titled "Out of the Mouth Of Babes". There are also quizzes at the end of each chapter and one at the end of the book that helps you determine if you are a doomed queen. While not glaringly inaccurate, this book does not go into depth, and therefore is not recommended for those with a more than casual interest in women of history. The chatty tone , humorous asides, and busy design are something you will love or hate. Might make a good gift item for a woman who likes humor books.

Kris Waldherr's book of "royal women who met bad ends" is a witty, fun look at the downside of being a female royal. I read the whole book in one sitting. This is a nice summary book of these 50 women. There are usually 2 pages devoted to each royal woman - and accordingly you don't get an in-depth look at their lives - but you do get to know the important backstory that lead to their death. And their deaths are really what the whole book is about anyway.

This isn't just a book for you to read, but also to look at. There are gorgeous drawings throughout that correspond with the different women. I really loved that some of these were renditions of famous artworks but there has been something sinister added to them that foreshadows their end. It was beautiful. A word of caution - I have heard many people say that these images do not transfer to the e-book versions. So if you want to get this one, I would recommend avoiding the e-book, or you will lose half of the experience. Beyond the narrative and the images, there is a cautionary moral at the end of each story as well as quizzes at the end of each chapter.

I also appreciated that there was a wide selection of royal women included. There were the famous that everyone knows about and then there were those that most have never heard of. It was interesting to see how many of these women were connected to each other in some way - these tragedies tended to run in families.

I would recommend this book to anyone that is new to the genre for a light introduction and to those who have been reading historical for a long time for a little something different.