angelqueen04's review
5.0
I just loved this book. It was great to catch glimpses of the women I was already familiar with, and also to learn about entirely new ladies that I had never even heard of before.
A great, light read.
A great, light read.
spiderkitten's review against another edition
2.0
I started this book. But. Sigh. First, I got held up a little with the title. Princesses behaving Badly.
There were quite a few stories that are pretty much just Princesses (I use the term loosely, as some women in this book are not daughters of Kings.) who refuse to marry men. That seems to be their only crime in terms of behaving badly. In a book that is supposed to be all about ditching the Disney ideal of Princesses that sort of message rubs me the wrong way.
I also found I did not entirely like the chatty style of the information. The more I thought about it, the more I felt the book is a little more like "Hey I did a school project on women from history and included as much information as I could find on each from Wikipedia" rather than "I did a ton of historical research and wrote some awesome stories about several select kick ass women from history."
That isn't to say that the book is entirely bad. It is informative, and there are certainly some interesting women from history! But I feel a bit disappointed.
There were quite a few stories that are pretty much just Princesses (I use the term loosely, as some women in this book are not daughters of Kings.) who refuse to marry men. That seems to be their only crime in terms of behaving badly. In a book that is supposed to be all about ditching the Disney ideal of Princesses that sort of message rubs me the wrong way.
I also found I did not entirely like the chatty style of the information. The more I thought about it, the more I felt the book is a little more like "Hey I did a school project on women from history and included as much information as I could find on each from Wikipedia" rather than "I did a ton of historical research and wrote some awesome stories about several select kick ass women from history."
That isn't to say that the book is entirely bad. It is informative, and there are certainly some interesting women from history! But I feel a bit disappointed.
narpus's review against another edition
3.0
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed reading this book. McRobbie employs her excellent research but lacks a clear, engaging voice. She has a strange bias against some princesses over others, mainly ones that existed outside of gender roles or were unconventional. Her silly "quips" are too jarring and needed however, they become limited in the second half of the book, not to mention various typos; I blame the structural editor.
Though, the book contained stories of a lot of different princesses from all over time and the world. A fun read.
Though, the book contained stories of a lot of different princesses from all over time and the world. A fun read.
kelseystamey's review
4.0
This book is less about true-to-life royal histories and more about the scandalous gossip that has attached itself to these women over the years. Some readers might see this book–which exaggerates the truth instead of focusing on fact–as an unethical portrayal, but I took it for what it is: a collection of bite-sized stories based in reality but embellished for the purpose of diversion and entertainment. Recognize that it's not intended to be a textbook, and you'll be fine.
crasscasualty's review
2.0
Very sketchy profiles told without real attempt at overarching theme. I nevertheless enjoyed reading it as I waited for a delayed plane.
luna_rondo's review against another edition
2.0
Did someone not give this to an editor? Because it desperately needed to be given to one. It read like a thesis statement that went wildly off track.
Interesting stories, but could have been expanded.
Interesting stories, but could have been expanded.
caralawless's review
3.0
A fun romp but not quite historically accurate or as well-researched as I'd like. The author clearly has her own opinion on these "princesses" and her opinion is too much shaded by her own time and social mores to really stand as a historic research project. However, it was a fun read and I'm sure the amateur historian would get a kick out it.
erinj254's review against another edition
2.0
I listened to this in the car. There were a few interesting parts but she covered SO MANY people, very briefly, that it was really difficult to keep up. The most fascinating part was the very end when she talked about the Polish factory worker who pretended to be the lost Princess Anastasia, and the brief mention of Noor Inayat Khan, the Spy Princess.