Royal Pains

"This was an interesting collection of stories. Unfortunately for me I knew a lot already about half the people in this book and not much new information about them for me. So if you are an avid historical reader, check the list of names below to be sure you're not already familiar with many of them. <br/><br/>There also were some historical interpretations that weren't included in this volume (such as Elizabeth Bathory's reputation being nowhere near as bad as it actually was - not really mentioned; mention of Mad King Leopold - who some historians believe wasn't mad but again maligned so others could take control)<br/><br/>I also wish there had been less focus on England (more than half were from that country) and while other countries were included there were certainly more that were not (Spain, Italy and Germany immediately come to my mind) which would have been nice.<br/><br/>Overall it was well written and I learned about some figures I wasn't as familiar with.<br/><br/>List of figures included:<br/>- King John of England<br/>- Vlad III of Wallachia (Vlad the Impaler)<br/>- George Duke of Clarence and Richard III of England<br/>- Ivan the IV of Russia (Ivan the Terrible)<br/>- Lettice Knollys (cousin of Queen Elizabeth I of England)<br/>-Elizabeth Bathory (Hungary)<br/>- Prince Henry Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn (England)<br/>- Pauline Bonaparte (mostly of France)<br/>- Archduke Rudolf of Austria<br/>- Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale (England)<br/>- Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowden (England)"