Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Book Review: Doomed Queens

An anonymous person once said, "Well behaved women seldom make history." This all-too-true quote constantly ran through my mind while reading Kris Waldherr's latest book, Doomed Queens. Who doesn't like reading about women who chose not to behave? Certainly not us.

Doomed Queens covers just about 3,000 years of queens who met unfortunate ends. The tales of 50 unfortunate queens' lives are retold with sassy panache and humorous commentary. To make the book even more fun Waldherr includes a graphics key that alerts readers to the method of doom. Some of these methods include beheadings, drownings, being burned alive, and imprisonment. Not only does Waldherr include some contemporary portraits of the queens but her own fabulous illustrations-accompanied by some great graphic design. I only wish she had an illustration for every queen. Oh, and did I mention, the book comes with its own paper dolls? Because it does! I became better acquainted with some queens and introduced to others. Here are some of my favorites from the book:

Juana of Castile











Marie Luisa of Orleans















Elisabeth of Bavaria











If you've been enjoying the lighthearted and (hopefully) fun approach to scandalous history that we try to give you here in the Gossip Guides, I think you will also enjoy this romp through unfortunate women rulers. I am so sure that you will like Doomed Queens that if you leave a comment before Monday 24 November you will qualify to be the one lucky reader to win a copy of the book courtesy of the fabulous Ms Waldherr.


Afterthought: If you would like to meet the author and see some of her art and are in New York City this weekend you should drop by her studio and ask her about her book!

21 comments:

  1. Great review. I posted an interview with Kris on my blog last week.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ooh, sounds like a fascinating book :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sounds like a great book!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I gotta have it! The paper dolls sold me. How cool is that? The cover is FAN-tastic. I always like being introduced to new ladies and this seems a good intro---and fun to boot. Thanks again for pointing me in the right direction. This blog will be the death of my budget ;)

    ReplyDelete
  5. looks like a lovely book. please count me in!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'd like to be included for the drawing! It looks like a fab book...another one for my growing list.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Squeee! A book with paper dolls. Heck yeah! That's almost as good as books that have a family tree in the front (the more complicated the better) and lots of maps. You can always tell it's gonna be a good book if it starts out with a family tree. Perhaps paper dolls will now become a history book standard? Imagine the fun acting out the scenes. :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. this is great!!
    just last week i bougt this book, but i havent started yet.

    :P

    ReplyDelete
  9. This book sound hilarious and informative! Count me in!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I just finished watching the Duchess and i am now fasinated with the life stories of many of our famous queens and women of nobility . This book sounds like an very interesting and entertaining reader and i get the bonus of playing with dolls again YAY for me :-D

    ReplyDelete
  11. the painting of elisabeth of bavaria is beautiful! I read about this book somewhere else and thought about buying it :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. No need to enter me. I got the book. You won't be able to put it down! And the art alone is worth the price of admission.

    Yes, I love that painting of Elizabeth of Bavaria too. Franz Xaver Winterhalter also painted Victoria. I have never been much a fan of Victoria but his paintings make you fall in love with her.

    ReplyDelete
  13. The book sounds wonderful! I love, love, love your blog! :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Even more excited about this book than I was before!

    ReplyDelete
  15. All that history, gore, AND paper dolls? Who could pass up such a fabulous find?

    ReplyDelete
  16. That looks amazing! :D

    Count me in!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Sounds good! Did some research- resent studies show the brain dies slowly. In french rev, a scientist told his assistant to count how long he can blink after his head is cut off. His head blinked for 3 minutes!

    ReplyDelete
  18. I think the book sounds awesome

    ReplyDelete
  19. It sounds enthralling. I'd love to get my hands on it.

    ReplyDelete