Princesses Behaving Badly Mini Review

I was pretty excited when I opened up Princesses Behaving Badly by Linda Rodriguez McRobbie - another cool book from Quirk and I was thrilled! However, I promptly forgot about it. Non-fiction tends to go to the bottom of my TBR in general, so that is where this gem sat. A few weeks ago, I was spring cleaning my bookshelves and came across it. Princesses Behaving Badly is a collection of true tales - and not the happily ever after kind. These princesses are real... as are their stories of power, lust, and cruelty. We all know the stories of gender inequality- well, these princesses had to overcome those barriers. Some did it through cunning mind play, while others did it through straight brutality. Whichever way it happened, many of these princesses needed to fight for their rights. These women (and sometimes girls!) are tough as nails and willing to do whatever it takes to get whatever it is they want. Interesting stories are found on every page. It really gives another light to the idea of "princess". After all, real princesses don't have carriages that turn into pumpkins, sing to the animals, live with a bunch of dwarfs, or sleep in the woods only to be woken by a kiss from a worthy prince. I think this should be required reading for all teenage girls- the Disney Princess concept is way to prevalent in our society... let them grow up to be whatever they want- let's remind them that women don't need to be saved and we can run our own lives! Yea feminism! {real feminism... not that man bashing crap that calls itself feminism... but that post is for another day folks}

A bit more about the book:

Quirk Books // Nov 2013

You think you know her story. You’ve read the Brothers Grimm, you’ve watched the Disney cartoons, and you cheered as these virtuous women lived happily ever after. But real princesses didn't always get happy endings. Sure, plenty were graceful and benevolent leaders, but just as many were ruthless in their quest for power—and all of them had skeletons rattling in their royal closets. Princess Stephanie von Hohenlohe was a Nazi spy. Empress Elisabeth of the Austro-Hungarian empire slept wearing a mask of raw veal. Princess Olga of Kiev slaughtered her way to sainthood while Princess Lakshmibai waged war on the battlefield, charging into combat with her toddler son strapped to her back. Princesses Behaving Badly offers true tales of all these princesses and dozens more in a fascinating read that's perfect for history buffs, feminists, and anyone seeking a different kind of bedtime story.

write to be understood, speak to be heard, read to grow

FTC: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. Image from Goodreads.com, book information from Amazon.com