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ILLICIT LOVE, MADNESS, BETRAYAL~~IT ISN'T ALWAYS GOOD TO BE QUEEN.....

In keeping with the Halloween season I came across this sweet little tome........
It really IS a rather intriguing read I must say.

"I assure you, the time hath been so odious to me that I long for nothing so much as death."
Jane Grey


"A queen who is not regent ought, under these circumstances, to remain passive and prepare to die."
Marie Antoinette

"Marie Antoinette, Anne Boleyn, and Mary Queen of Scots.  What did they have in common?  Long nights in dark prison towers and a march to the scaffold where they surrendered their heads to the executioner.  Throughout history, royal women have had a distressing way of meeting bad ends ~~ dying of starvation, being burned at the stake, or expiring in childbirth while trying desperately to produce an heir.  And all to often, even devious plotting, miraculous pregnancies and selling out their sisters were not enough to keep them from forcible consignment to religious orders.  From Cleopatra (suicide by asp) to Princess Caroline (suspiciously poisoned on her coronation day), there's a gory downside to being blue blooded when you lack a Y chromosome."

This book chronicles the lives of fifty of the most notorious queens in history.  You meet such figures as Catherine of Aragon, Josephine and Mary Stuart.....just to name a few.


It was a quick read and throughly enjoyable for this spooky halloween season.


Hugs,


 



Comments

  1. Interesting Jo!... I don't think most people realize Marie Antoinette was beheaded... so many have a fascination with her... she certainly does have a sordid past!... (all my French grandmothers, great~grandmothers, all the way back were named Marie after her and my middle name kept the family tradition going)... hope my past is a little sunnier!... xoxo Julie Marie

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  2. Queens obsessed and looking forward to death, truly halloweenie!

    Be safe and have tons of fun.

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  3. Sounds like a great read. Thanks for telling us about it. I found an old book about, not queens, but powerful women of the past, and it really made you think about those old times.
    Mary

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  4. Yes, indeed
    That nasty King Henry the VIII was responsible for killing off more than one wife. Why anyone would even want to marry him is beyond me.

    Of course it is not like us gals had any say in the matter back then.
    My personal fav. was Anne Boleyn who was kind of a fiesty woman
    for her time.

    love the post

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  5. Ooooh, I must find this book! I love anything of a historical nature. I have a similar book, entitled (I think) "When Women Ruled The World". It chronicled the women behind every throne, or high state office throughout the ages. Fascinating stuff! I'll have to look this one you've mentioned up on Barnes & Noble. Btw, your photos of roses take me back to childhood days as well. Lovely!

    - Dawn

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  6. And you, my dear, must have a little taste for blood in your system. lol Sounds like a great book - wonder if it's available on my Nook. Need to find it.

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  7. Awww yes, royal blissdom:) I watched 'The Tudors' on netflix streaming awhile ago and loved the history lessons. Now I need to find this book too. Aren't we glad we're from this age and not that one:)

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  8. Well winter is coming on and it is time to get some good books for reading. Thanks for sharing this one.

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  9. Being a gangster's moll has never been easy. All those "royalty" and "blue blood" labels are simply a smokescreen for the fact that they were all essentially Carmela Soprano.

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  10. sounds interesting and creepy all at the same time!

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  11. I have this book as I love to read about this time in European & British history!! Very interesting book......
    Have a Great Day!!
    Marilyn

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  12. Oh I may have to look for that little book it sounds very interesting Josette!
    I must say that from the history I do remember, being royalty did not sound like a career I would have envied. Way too much intrigue and nasty, nasty death!
    Have a wonderful day!
    Tina xo

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  13. Poor Jane Grey. She definitely didn't deserve her death!

    Yes, I've seen this book at my bookstore, and been tempted to read it. May have to pick it up!

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  14. thanks for the critique Josette
    i'm going to check to see if i can get it on my kindle...
    BEAR HUGS
    ~victoria~

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  15. Oh I think I've found my next good read! I'm reading Cleopatra now and it's quite informative!
    Hugs~

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  16. Not so great to be queen! I'll look for it!

    Thanks for your comment over at my little cottage, Jo. Food for thought. :)

    Hugs,
    Zuzu

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  17. I found the same book years ago at a thrift store. Not sure if I still have it.
    Someone else thought enough about them to write it out for us.

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  18. Oh, it sounds like a fascinating read. In doing genealogy I have come across many such stories and was amazed at the dangers of being a king or queen were. There were a constant flow of royals who died in "accidents". Thanks for sharing!

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