Royal Murders

Rating:
Summary: Stunning and most informative
Review: Ms. Ashdown provided an interesting exposition of royal murders throughout the centuries and what was particularly pleasing about this book was the fact that she did not limit herself to British royalty but rather extended her analysis to Russian, Hungarian, French and Spanish monarchy. She was truly original in her analysis, establishing various lines of review - killings by poison, magic, for political purposes,self-aggrandizement etc. She also showed how the reasons for royal murders have changed over the centuries, reflecting in part the declining importance of royalty throughout the world. After completing this book, I was much more informed about this particular topic and I heartily recommend this to all. Ms. Ashdown's style is exciting, holding the reader's interest throughout.

Rating:
Summary: Badly organized, but informative
Review: This book contains a great number of anecdotes connecting royalty and murder, as victim and perpetrator. I found it very interesting, but at times, very difficult to follow. Until it resolved itself around the middle to be organized along a sort of time line, I couldn't figure out if it was sorted by country, family, or time. The author doesn't go into a great deal of detail in regards to each crime, so if you want an interesting overview of royals as murderers or victims, this book will suit your purposes well.

Rating:
Summary: Badly organized, but informative
Review: This book contains a great number of anecdotes connecting royalty and murder, as victim and perpetrator. I found it very interesting, but at times, very difficult to follow. Until it resolved itself around the middle to be organized along a sort of time line, I couldn't figure out if it was sorted by country, family, or time. The author doesn't go into a great deal of detail in regards to each crime, so if you want an interesting overview of royals as murderers or victims, this book will suit your purposes well.