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neens_m's review against another edition
challenging
informative
tense
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Minor: Child death, Death, Sexual assault, and Death of parent
hanyaya's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Minor: Rape
rogankeira's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
4.0
A tad repetitive because this collects four memoirs talking about similar events but with different intended audiences and purposes, so there is a fair bit of repeated information in terms of the "plot" of the memoir, although the focus, detail and tone of each one is different. It is of course an invaluable resource for learning about the Sado incident and the politics of the royal family as well as royal in-laws in the late Chosŏn, but I especially appreciated it as an insight into the psyche of a powerful yet powerless woman and how she viewed her and other women's position in society.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Mental illness
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Child death, Sexism, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Abortion, and Suicide attempt
ruthiek's review against another edition
informative
sad
slow-paced
4.25
This is really fascinating book. However, if you are reading it just to learn more about Prince Sado and what happened I would just read the memoir of 1805. It’s solely about him and what happened.
booklover160's review against another edition
4.0
After reading [b:The Red Palace|56978115|The Red Palace|June Hur|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1616437004l/56978115._SY75_.jpg|84477339] and learning it was inspired by a real prince of Korea, I spent a good two or three days researching Prince Sado and his actions. This led me to this book.
According to Wikipedia, Lady Hyegyong's memoirs are some of the only pre-modern autobiographies written by a woman in East Asia. I found her interesting and decided to get my hands on this book and read it.
It's very well written for this time period and it was a wonderful look into Lady Hyegyong's life and the precarious role she had to play in Prince Sado's life. I am of the opinion that Prince Sado had a severe mental illness and I believe his father also suffered from a slightly less severe mental illness too. From what she says, King Yongjo also had uncontrollable fits of rage, you can tell by the way he treats Sado, and his rituals seem to also lend to the idea he also suffered from a mental illness. He was blow small mistakes out of proportion with cruel and harsh punishments while large transgressions (like Sado literally killing hundreds of people) got more sympathy and smaller punishments.
It is fascinating to see an educated woman's impartial view of the whole incident. Well, mostly impartial. She clearly has devotion to her husband, her king, and her country. I think she did the best she could in the terrible situation she was in. A single misstep could have resulted in her death; from her husband or even the king. But she seemed to handle it gracefully, jotting down her innermost thoughts and wishes.
Overall, a great read for those interested in this time period and more specifically Prince Sado himself.
According to Wikipedia, Lady Hyegyong's memoirs are some of the only pre-modern autobiographies written by a woman in East Asia. I found her interesting and decided to get my hands on this book and read it.
It's very well written for this time period and it was a wonderful look into Lady Hyegyong's life and the precarious role she had to play in Prince Sado's life. I am of the opinion that Prince Sado had a severe mental illness and I believe his father also suffered from a slightly less severe mental illness too. From what she says, King Yongjo also had uncontrollable fits of rage, you can tell by the way he treats Sado, and his rituals seem to also lend to the idea he also suffered from a mental illness. He was blow small mistakes out of proportion with cruel and harsh punishments while large transgressions (like Sado literally killing hundreds of people) got more sympathy and smaller punishments.
It is fascinating to see an educated woman's impartial view of the whole incident. Well, mostly impartial. She clearly has devotion to her husband, her king, and her country. I think she did the best she could in the terrible situation she was in. A single misstep could have resulted in her death; from her husband or even the king. But she seemed to handle it gracefully, jotting down her innermost thoughts and wishes.
Overall, a great read for those interested in this time period and more specifically Prince Sado himself.
elegyeldritch's review against another edition
4.0
Political intrigue in itself is fascinating, but even more so when told from the point of view of someone who actually experienced it. This book reads like historical fiction, but it's real!