Sherry G. (Shervivor) -
Helpful Score: 4
This was a fun book to read. Each chapter is short so you can read it as you please. Each chapter gives a quick synopsis of the monarch and what made them "mad". Some of the infamous characters covered are: Isabella "she wolf" of France, Vlad the Impaler, Juana of Castille, Ivan the Terrible, Elizabeth Bathory, Peter the Great, Mustafa I of Turkey and Catherine the Great. If you are looking for biographical info on each monarch this is not the book for you. Each monarch is covered in 3 - 4 pages, but those few pages cover the most mad aspects of each character. If you like to read about lechery this book is for you!
Fun, quick read. Makes today's politicians look like angels.
"Mad Kings and Queens" refers to 40 monarchs of Europe deemd insane by their countrymen. The book offers glimpses of the circumstances which caused or aggravated these people's descents into cruelty, melancholy, and madness.
