Title: Princesses Behaving Badly: Real Stories from History—Without the Fairy-Tale Endings
Author: Linda Rodríguez McRobbie
First published November 19, 2013
303 pages, Hardcover
ISBN: 9781594746444 (ISBN10: 1594746443)
Rating: 3.64
Overview
Abraham Lincoln’s leadership skills are legendary, but have you ever considered how they could help you in your own organization? In Lincoln on Leadership, Donald T.
Phillips explores Lincoln’s diverse abilities as a leader and how they can be applied to today’s complex world. Despite facing immense challenges, Lincoln was able to become one of our most honored and revered presidents.
This book reveals how he did it and provides insights that can help you run your own organization. Discover why you should seize the initiative, encourage risk-taking while providing job security, and avoid issuing orders.
If you’re ready to learn from one of the greatest leaders in history, this book is for you.
About the Author
Linda Rodríguez McRobbie is an American journalist and writer currently residing in London, England. Her writing repertoire ranges from the history of toilet paper to the intriguing story of the Ouija Board, and she has yet to find a topic that isn’t fascinating.
In 2004, Linda graduated from the Columbia School of Journalism and began her career in Boston. She started at the City Desk of the Boston Herald, where she fielded phone calls from upset readers and potential tipsters with what seemed like mental illnesses.
During this time, Linda also wrote articles for the paper. She then moved to the South End News, the primary paper for the South End of Boston, and Bay Windows, the top newspaper for the New England GLBTQ community.
After spending four years in the trenches of community journalism, Linda decided to become a full-time freelance journalist in London, which was a more challenging task than she had anticipated.
In London, Linda became the editor of The Periscope Post, an online news site that focused on highlighting the most important and intriguing commentary of the day. In November 2012, she left the Post to work on her first book, Princesses Behaving Badly, which was published by Quirk Books (available for purchase).
As a freelancer, Linda primarily writes for Smithsonian.com and Mental Floss, both for the magazine and the web. Her work has also been published in CNN Money, US News & World Report, the Christian Science Monitor, and other publications.
Linda is married to graphic designer Chris McRobbie, and they have a son and a cat.
Editoral Review
Princesses Behaving Badly: Real Stories from HistoryWithout the Fairy-Tale Endings by Linda Rodrguez McRobbie is a delightfully unconventional retelling of historical stories that challenge the traditional narrative of female royalty. Published in 2013, this book provides a gripping and fascinating insight into the lives of princesses from different cultures and time periods.
McRobbie, a British-American journalist, has worked as a senior editor at The Week magazine and has contributed to several publications, including The Guardian, The Boston Globe, and The Wall Street Journal. The book features tales of 31 princesses who dared to break the mold, displaying behavior that was considered anything but lady-like in their societies.
McRobbie portrays a diverse cast of women, each with their own unique story full of courage, determination, and, at times, villainy. The princesses stories are not the sugar-coated fairy tales of yore, but rather gritty and raw accounts of power, oppression, and ingenuity.
The book captures the timeless human struggles of love, betrayal, and redemption as expressed by these women. The authors writing style is fluid, engaging, and perfectly paced.
She welcomes the reader into each princesss world and delves into the nuances of their lives. McRobbie provides a sense of cultural context that makes the princesses actions understandable without justifying them.
She brings to life princesses who are sometimes overlooked by history or merely portrayed as simple characters without much depth of character. Princesses Behaving Badly has extensive historical significance, as it highlights the role of women in shaping the course of history.
The book challenges conventional stories of women in history, giving voice to individuals whose lives differ from the typical misogynistic stories of princesses. McRobbies work contributes to the ongoing discussions regarding gender roles, patriarchy, and the intersection of power and gender.
One minor drawback is that the brevity of each womans story may leave readers wanting more depth of character. The book’s strengths lie in its brevity and concise treatment of the lives of the princesses.
However, for readers interested in each princess’s story, it would be necessary to research further into their lives. Overall, Princesses Behaving Badly is an excellent book that provides a fresh take on history’s women.
It is a must-read for anyone who wants to learn about women who broke boundaries and defied social norms, even as far back as ancient times. Readers who have an interest in history and feminism will find this book an enlightening and entertaining read.
In awarding Princesses Behaving Badly a score, Washington Post would give it an 8/10. This book’s strengths lie in the author’s storytelling abilities to captivate readers with the lives of 31 women whose stories are not known to many.
It is also an invaluable resource for anyone studying the role of women in history that pushes back against the typical misogynistic accounts of princesses. However, its brevity leaves readers seeking a deeper dive into each woman’s life.
