DECEMBER 2013 - AudioFile
Cassandra Campbell puts the spark in these surprisingly lackluster tales of spunky princesses behaving in unprincess-like ways. The author categorizes her princesses as warriors, usurpers, schemers, survivors, partiers, floozies, and madwomen. Then she highlights real princesses throughout history who she believes fit the categories. Campbell makes each princess’s story engaging, and makes it crystal clear that while some did, indeed, behave badly—even inhumanely—others were just rebelling against impossible strictures. This nonfiction works well as a glimpse into the lives of some fascinating women but offers little new in the way of historical substance. Even with McRobbie’s graphic retellings of murder, corruption, sex, and madness, it’s Campbell’s impeccable narration that turns the book into something special. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
01/27/2014
London-based McRobbie flirts with real controversy only to evade it in this collection of rotten royal behavior, and her book suffers for it. During her unhappy marriage to society photographer Earl Snowdon, Queen Elizabeth II's younger sister Margaret—notorious for her poor choice in men and being a spoiled, aimless, and ill-tempered alcoholic—allegedly enjoyed a threesome that was captured in photos so compromising that Britain's MI5 staged an elaborate heist in 1971 to steal them back. Banished to Constantinople to marry a Roman senator, 5th-century Honoria wrote to Rome's worst enemy, Attila the Hun, for help, sending her ring, which the barbarian chose to interpret as a marriage proposal and used as his excuse to invade Rome. Although Sarah Winnemucca lectured to thousands of whites as a "civilized" Indian princess and agitated on behalf of her Piute tribe to President Rutherford Hayes, Native Americans saw "her as a pawn in the pay of the U.S. government." McRobbie mostly ignores the escapades of contemporary royals like Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit, who has an illegitimate son with a convicted drug dealer; Sarah Ferguson, who sold access to Britain's Prince Andrew; or Monaco's Stephanie, lately divorced from a circus performer. Unfortunately, while McRobbie has the subject matter, her prose is sloppy, her attempts at cleverness fall flat, and her thumbnail portraits are shallow. Illus. (Nov.)
From the Publisher
Forget conventional fairy-tale endings…From pirate princesses to princesses with bizarre beauty routines to warrior royalty, this book shows there's a lot more to life than a cookie-cutter story.”—Bustle
“An important and impressive contribution to the feminist narrative.”—Bust magazine
“Princess, diva, pain in the ass — all terms that resonate throughout Princesses Behaving Badly, which tells of royal terrors who make modern gossip queens seem as demure as Snow White.”—New York Post
“History has produced some very real, very dangerous ladies who make their movie and book counterparts seem lame by comparison. From Nazi spy to bloodthirsty killer, these women were not meek in any way. Heck, one of them even wore a mask of raw veal! You’ll find out all this and more in this little book of miniature biographies.”—Geeks of Doom
“McRobbie includes a good mix that will satisfy anyone who loves tales of history and audacity.”—Terri Schlichenmeyer, The Bookworm Sez
“McRobbie gives many of these princesses exactly what their stories require: a narrative that tells their stories in broad strokes, without omitting any of the juicy details.” —ForeWord Reviews
“Irreverent, informative, and entertaining, Princesses Behaving Badly is the perfect companion to royal novels.” —Jennifer Conner, Literate Housewife
“[Princesses Behaving Badly] is a major addition to feminist libraries, and more importantly, it’s lots of fun!”—Anna Jedrziewski, Retailing Insight
DECEMBER 2013 - AudioFile
Cassandra Campbell puts the spark in these surprisingly lackluster tales of spunky princesses behaving in unprincess-like ways. The author categorizes her princesses as warriors, usurpers, schemers, survivors, partiers, floozies, and madwomen. Then she highlights real princesses throughout history who she believes fit the categories. Campbell makes each princess’s story engaging, and makes it crystal clear that while some did, indeed, behave badly—even inhumanely—others were just rebelling against impossible strictures. This nonfiction works well as a glimpse into the lives of some fascinating women but offers little new in the way of historical substance. Even with McRobbie’s graphic retellings of murder, corruption, sex, and madness, it’s Campbell’s impeccable narration that turns the book into something special. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine
