Customer Reviews

Royal Murders

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

 

 

Ms. Ashdown provided an interesting exposition of royal murders throughout the centuries and what was particularly pleasing about this book was the fact that she did not limit herself to British royalty but rather extended her analysis to Russian, Hungarian, French and Spanish monarchy. She was truly original in her analysis, establishing various lines of review - killings by poison, magic, for political purposes,self-aggrandizement etc. She also showed how the reasons for royal murders have changed over the centuries, reflecting in part the declining importance of royalty throughout the world. After completing this book, I was much more informed about this particular topic and I heartily recommend this to all. Ms. Ashdown's style is exciting, holding the reader's interest throughout.

This book contains a great number of anecdotes connecting royalty and murder, as victim and perpetrator. I found it very interesting, but at times, very difficult to follow. Until it resolved itself around the middle to be organized along a sort of time line, I couldn't figure out if it was sorted by country, family, or time. The author doesn't go into a great deal of detail in regards to each crime, so if you want an interesting overview of royals as murderers or victims, this book will suit your purposes well.

This book spans more than a thousand years of history, examining the motives, means and consequences of murders of - and by - Europe's ruling families. There are all manner of murders here: from the possible involvement of Mary Queen of Scots in the death of Darnley to the murderous killings undertaken by Tsar Ivan IV (Ivan the Terrible). There are murders that overthrew tyrants, ended dynasties and started wars. And how were these murders committed: swords and arrows, bombs and bullets, and poison. Witchcraft too, allegedly. The royal murderers have killed, often to gain (or retain) power. Consort queens have murdered their husbands, fathers their sons and sons their fathers.

The unifying theme of this book is murder or attempted murder of and by royalty, or those closely connected to royalty. It caught my attention, but didn't always keep it. I found snippets of information that I was previously unaware of, as well as some interpretations that I may not agree with. Despite the subject matter, I found this a comparatively light read, probably because I wanted more information about some of the individual cases than the book provided. Still, if you are interested in the lives and deaths of royalty, this book may well appeal.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith