Description: Princesses Behaving Badly by Linda Rodriguez McRobbie 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. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description This new paperback edition offers true tales of these take-charge princesses plus dozens more in a fascinating read thats perfect for history buffs, feminists, and anyone seeking a different kind of bedtime story.These 30 true stories of take-charge princesses from around the world and throughout history offer a different kind of bedtime story . . .Pop history meets a funny, feminist point-of-view in these illustrated tales of "royal terrors who make modern gossip queens seem as demure as Snow White" (New York Post).You think you know her story. Youve read the Brothers Grimm, youve watched the Disney cartoons, and you cheered as these virtuous women lived happily ever after. But real princesses didnt always get happy endings-and had very little in common with Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, or Ariel.Featuring illustrations by Wicked cover artist, Douglas Smith, Princesses Behaving Badly tells the true stories of famous (Marie Antoinette; LucreziaBorgia)-and some not-so-famous-princesses throughout history and around the world, including-. Princess Stephanie von Hohenlohe, a Nazi spy.. Empress Elisabeth of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, who slept wearing a mask of raw veal.. Princess Olga of Kiev, who slaughtered her way to sainthood.. Princess Lakshmibai, who waged war on the battlefield with her toddler strapped to her back.Some were villains, some were heroes, some were just plain crazy. But none of these princesses felt constrained to our notions of "lady-like" behavior. Author Biography Linda Rodriguez McRobbie has written for Smithsonian Magazine, The Guardian, Atlas Obscura, Christian Science Monitor, WallStreetJournal.com, and other national publications. Find her online at lindarodriguezmcrobbie.com. Review "Forget conventional fairy-tale endings…From pirate princesses to princesses with bizarre beauty routines to warrior royalty, this book shows theres a lot more to life than a cookie-cutter story."—Bustle"An important and impressive contribution to the feminist narrative."—Bust magazine"Princess, diva, pain in the ass — all terms that resonate throughout Princesses Behaving Badly, which tells of royal terrors who make modern gossip queens seem as demure as Snow White."—New York Post"History has produced some very real, very dangerous ladies who make their movie and book counterparts seem lame by comparison. From Nazi spy to bloodthirsty killer, these women were not meek in any way. Heck, one of them even wore a mask of raw veal! Youll find out all this and more in this little book of miniature biographies."—Geeks of Doom "McRobbie includes a good mix that will satisfy anyone who loves tales of history and audacity."—Terri Schlichenmeyer, The Bookworm Sez"McRobbie gives many of these princesses exactly what their stories require: a narrative that tells their stories in broad strokes, without omitting any of the juicy details." —ForeWord Reviews"Irreverent, informative, and entertaining, Princesses Behaving Badly is the perfect companion to royal novels." —Jennifer Conner, Literate Housewife"[Princesses Behaving Badly] is a major addition to feminist libraries, and more importantly, its lots of fun!"—Anna Jedrziewski, Retailing Insight Promotional This new paperback edition offers true tales of these take-charge princesses plus dozens more in a fascinating read thats perfect for history buffs, feminists, and anyone seeking a different kind of bedtime story. Review Quote "Forget conventional fairy-tale endings...From pirate princesses to princesses with bizarre beauty routines to warrior royalty, this book shows theres a lot more to life than a cookie-cutter story."-- Bustle "History has produced some very real, very dangerous ladies who make their movie and book counterparts seem lame by comparison. From Nazi spy to bloodthirsty killer, these women were not meek in any way. Heck, one of them even wore a mask of raw veal! Youll find out all this and more in this little book of miniature biographies."-- Geeks of Doom Promotional "Headline" This new paperback edition offers true tales of these take-charge princesses plus dozens more in a fascinating read thats perfect for history buffs, feminists, and anyone seeking a different kind of bedtime story. Excerpt from Book Once Upon a Time: An Introduction "Every girl pretends she is a princess at one point." Lindy, from Alex Finns Beastly Every little girl? Not quite. When I was growing up, I didnt want to be a princess. I wasnt a tomboy or anything; I just wasnt into them. Horses, yes, especially the unicorn or winged or, best of all, winged unicorn kind. But then again, when I was a little girl, the Disney princess wasnt the glittery pastel-colored juggernaut it is today. You could be a little girl and not limit your dress-up choices to Belle, Ariel, or Cinderella (or Mulan or Merida, if youre feeling feisty). Nowadays, princess obsession is the default setting for many little girls. In 2000 Disney decided to market the doe-eyed denizens of its feature films by their primary identifying characteristic: their princess titles. And thus was born the princess plague. Princesses are now the biggest industry for the pre-tween set. In 2012 the Disney Princess media franchise was the best-selling of its kind in North America, outselling Star Wars and Sesame Street and earning more than $4.6 billion worldwide. Add to that all the collateral stuff--T he Princess and the Popstar Barbies, the Melissa & Doug Decorate Your Own Princess Mirror sets, countless pink-spangled princess T-shirts--and youve got what social commentators and worried parents are calling the "Princess Industrial Complex." In her fascinating book Cinderella Ate My Daughter (Harper, 2011), Peggy Orenstein examines the obsession with bundling girls into "pink and pretty" princess costumes. Orenstein, among many others, worries that princess play presents unrealistic expectations of feminine beauty, is overly restrictive (pink ball gown, or purple?), and is turning little girls into budding narcissists. So do I. Though no direct evidence supports claims that the ubiquitous princess culture harms girls self-esteem, it seems to me that the phenomenon smacks of an unjustified sense of entitlement, a kind of fake power derived not from good decision-making skills or leadership or intelligence but physical attractiveness, wealth, and relationships with strong male characters. "Princess" is a title that establishes bizarre expectations of how one should be treated, of what has value, and of what women will or should achieve in their lives. Obviously, most little girls dont grow up believing that life is all dress-up heels, fairy godmothers, and Prince Charmings. But the princess fantasy is one that we dont ever really give up. Witness the fascination with Kate Middleton, the pretty girl-next-door commoner who married Britains dashing Prince William in April 2011. Though shes technically not a princess--her official title is Duchess of Cambridge--Catherines story has all the hallmarks of a fairy tale. The royal wedding even looked like a cartoon--I almost expected to see twittering bluebirds carrying Kates train. Sweetly two-dimensional "Princess Kate" was the image that tabloids the world over traded on, despite the grim reality of what happened to the last British princess given the fairy-tale treatment. Blonde blue-eyed Diana was Cinderella, a similarity not lost on media then or now. Dianas real story, however--her marriage of convenience, her husbands infidelity, rumors of her own unfaithfulness, struggles with fame and eating disorders, her courtship of the British press, and her eventual death after being chased by paparazzi--is distinctly not the happy fairy tale everyone hoped for. Perhaps the best way to make sure that the fairy tale doesnt become the expectation is to talk about real princesses and to stop turning their lives into fairy tales. Some real princesses were women who found themselves in circumstances they couldnt control. Sophia Dorothea of Celle, for example, was forced to marry a man she called "pig snout," a man who violently assaulted her, cheated on her, and, after she retaliated by having her own affair, locked her in a castle for more than three decades until her death. Others, like Anna of Saxony, were genuinely mentally unstable--a limited gene pool can be just as corrupting as absolute power. Pretty Grimm. But some princesses found ways to shape their own destinies. Empress Wu of China showed that princesses can be just as Machiavellian as any prince. Some, like Sarah Winnemucca, used their titles (both real and imagined) to draw attention to a higher cause. Others were just out for a good time, like the American Clara Ward, a so-called Dollar Princess who left her Prince Not-So-Charming to run off with a gypsy violinist. And more than a few werent even princesses at all, like Caraboo or Franziska, the Polish factory worker who claimed to be the lost Romanov princess Anastasia. Historical princesses have been capable of great things as well as horrible things; theyve made stupid decisions and bad mistakes, loved the wrong people or too many people or not enough people. They are women who lied, murdered, used sex as a weapon, or dressed like a man to hold on to power. They werent afraid to get a little dirt, or blood, on their hands. These women were human, but the word princess , along with its myriad connotations, often glosses over that humanity. For each of the women described in the following pages, Ive tried to strip away the myth and portray something as close as possible to the real person. But history is only as accurate as those who record it, and that goes double when the subject is a woman. Ive made every effort to track down stories from the most reliable sources, but, as with any reconstructing of the past, some of the tales must be chalked up to rumor, gossip, and assumption. Nevertheless, here are the stories of real princesses and real women. They may begin once upon a time, but they dont always end happily ever after. Afhild: The Princess Who Turned Pirate Ca. 5th century The icy waters of the Baltic Sea Princess Alfhild had a choice to make. On the one hand, a really awesome guy had finally managed to bypass her fathers deadly defenses and call on her without being beheaded or poisoned. She could marry this brave young man and enjoy the life of domestic bliss that women of her era were supposed to aspire to. Or she could give up royal life and become a pirate. Guess which path she chose? Daddys Girl The only daughter of the fiercely protective fifth-century Goth king Siward, little Alfhild was raised to be modest, almost pathologically so. She was supposedly so modest that she kept her face "muffled in a robe" lest the sight of her incredible beauty provoke any nearby men to go mad with lust. Alfhild had good reason to be so dedicated to preserving her chastity. Her story appears in the Gesta Danorum (Deeds of the Danes), a twelfth-century multivolume work in Latin by historian Saxo Grammaticus. If Saxo is to be believed, virginity was pretty much the only currency a woman had. But covering her face was just one of the measures taken to keep her untouched by a man. According to Saxo, King Siward did what any father of a pretty teenage daughter would do if he could: [He] banished her into very close keeping, and gave her a viper and a snake to rear, wishing to defend her chastity by the protection of these reptiles when they came to grow up. For it would have been hard to pry into her chamber when it was barred by so dangerous a bolt. He also enacted that if any man tried to enter it, and failed, he must straightway yield his head to be taken off and impaled on a stake. The terror which was thus attached to wantonness chastened the heated spirits of the young men. There was, however, one young man whose "heated spirits" were inflamed by these strictures, who thought "that peril of the attempt only made it nobler." His name was Alf, and he was the son of the Danish king Sigar. One day Alf burst into Alfhilds chamber. Clad in a bloody animal hide (to drive the reptiles insane, obviously ), he killed the viper by tossing a red-hot piece of steel down its gullet. The snake he dispatched by more traditional means: a spear to the throat. Though impressed by how the rash young Dane had destroyed his reptilian defenses, Siward would accept him only if Alfhild "made a free and decided choice" in his favor. Alfhild was definitely charmed by the brave suitor whod just killed her delightful pets; her mother, however, was not. She told Alfhild to "search her mind" and not to be "captivated by charming looks" or forget to "judge his virtue." Swayed by her mothers wise counsel, Alfhild decided that Alf was not the man for her. Instead, she decided to trade her modesty for mens clothing and go to sea as a rampaging pirate, leading a crew of lady buccaneers. As you do. Hello, Sailor Why Alfhild decided to become a p Details ISBN1683690257 Pages 304 Publisher Quirk Books Year 2018 ISBN-10 1683690257 ISBN-13 9781683690252 Format Paperback Publication Date 2018-03-06 Media Book Imprint Quirk Books Subtitle Real Stories from History Without the Fairy-Tale Endings Place of Publication Philadelphia Country of Publication United States DEWEY 920.72 Short Title Princesses Behaving Badly Language English UK Release Date 2018-03-06 AU Release Date 2018-03-06 NZ Release Date 2018-03-06 US Release Date 2018-03-06 Illustrations Spot illustrations throughout Narrator Matthew Beard Birth 1927 Affiliation Lecturer, University of Fort Hare Position Professor Qualifications J.D. Author Linda Rodriguez McRobbie Audience General We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:149308780;
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Book Title: Princesses Behaving Badly: Real Stories from History Without the Fairy-Tale Endings
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Item Height: 203mm
Item Width: 135mm
Publisher: Quirk Books
Publication Year: 2018
Author: Linda Rodriguez Mcrobbie
Genre: Biographies & True Stories
Number of Pages: 304 Pages
