Joyless. Reminded me of reading entries in a 1950s Encyclopedia Britannica for school reports on famous people. Even the few, pointless insertions of the names of contemporaries (Karl Rove!) fail to make any insightful connections. I couldn't finish, but read most of the book, and jumped ahead to Archduke Rudolph might be different. Alas no. Even Vlad the Impaler just reads as a bore. ( )

History lite quite fun ( )

Won from Goodreads ( )

I enjoyed this book. Each chapter is about a famous "bad seed" from history. You can find out all the juicy details of people like Vlad the Impaler, Richard III, Ivan the Terrible, The Blood Countess, Pauline Bonaparte, etc.
At times, I do think that there was a lot of focus on the sensational rumors that have been glorified over the centuries. However,despite that statement, I do believe that the author did her research and included a great historical background to each individuals story. I found the writing style very easy and light hearted. This was not heavy reading at all, but a good entertaining read of real life royals. I would recommend this to others. ( )

Non fiction about the hijinks of the British Royal family starting with Charles II. Humorous & entertaining.