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Royal Inbreeding and Other Maladies: A History of Royal Intermarriage and its Consequences
When we think of kings and queens, we conjure up illusions of a magnificent kingdom where His and Her Majesties live in the lap of luxury and want for nothing. While this may be true, life wasn’t always as perfect.
With the history of royal families comes a long and twisted history of genetics and family intermarriage that is often swept aside.
In Ms Cummings' latest book, she takes us through the complicated spider’s web of royal marriages. She tells us of the atrocities of the Ptolemy Dynasty as they continued to marry brothers and sisters to fend off political outsiders. She tells us about the centuries of intermarriage in European’s most prominent royal family, along with the devastating results that came with it.
We will learn of the devastation of mental illness that befell reigning monarchs of The Hundred Years War and plagued George III of England, Juana of Castile and the Wittlebach Empire. She will also tell us of the desperation that fell upon the Russian Royal Family as their only heir to the throne grew ill with haemophilia. She will also go into depth about the notorious Hapsburgs, the decades of physical and mental ailments that tormented them, and how their empire ended with the most inbred royal in history, Charles II of Spain.
After hearing the heartwrenching stories of these great monarchs, you’ll find that you can’t help but sympathize with them as you read about how genetics was the ultimate game-changer in most families.
With the history of royal families comes a long and twisted history of genetics and family intermarriage that is often swept aside.
In Ms Cummings' latest book, she takes us through the complicated spider’s web of royal marriages. She tells us of the atrocities of the Ptolemy Dynasty as they continued to marry brothers and sisters to fend off political outsiders. She tells us about the centuries of intermarriage in European’s most prominent royal family, along with the devastating results that came with it.
We will learn of the devastation of mental illness that befell reigning monarchs of The Hundred Years War and plagued George III of England, Juana of Castile and the Wittlebach Empire. She will also tell us of the desperation that fell upon the Russian Royal Family as their only heir to the throne grew ill with haemophilia. She will also go into depth about the notorious Hapsburgs, the decades of physical and mental ailments that tormented them, and how their empire ended with the most inbred royal in history, Charles II of Spain.
After hearing the heartwrenching stories of these great monarchs, you’ll find that you can’t help but sympathize with them as you read about how genetics was the ultimate game-changer in most families.
- GenresNonfictionHistory
272 pages, Hardcover
Published June 10, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
April 24, 2024
Royalty was supposed to rule by divine right and meant to preserve their bloodline, but in their zeal to do so lay the seeds of the madness and maladies that plagued many royal houses.
It’s always fun to read about mad royals. Removed by time and societal changes, they don’t feel real enough to be sorry for, and so you can fully indulge in ogling at the bizarre stories without shame. And with unlimited money and power at their disposal, there’s a lot of bizarre stories. Cummings tries to dial down the sensationalism in her book though, discussing why royals persisted in intermarrying and having children despite the (to us at least) obvious consequences of their actions.
Starting in antiquity but focusing more on families in the late medieval period onward, she discusses the stories of a number of royals who suffered from the effects of inbreeding, whether physical or mental, going in depth on families such as the Hapsburgs, the Hanovers, and the Wittelsbachs. I appreciated how she addressed the suffering royals with compassion and empathy, placing their strange-seeming actions in the context of the times.
However, I did feel that she was prone to speculation in places, for example when discussing the mental health of such royals as Cleopatra, Mary I of England, and Mary Queen of Scots – without real evidence produced to support her arguments, they felt flimsy. I enjoyed the book most where she focused on one or two figures for the length of a chapter; I wondered if I would have enjoyed the book more had the author narrowed its scope, especially if she’d jettisoned much of the less factually-supported first half.
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.
It’s always fun to read about mad royals. Removed by time and societal changes, they don’t feel real enough to be sorry for, and so you can fully indulge in ogling at the bizarre stories without shame. And with unlimited money and power at their disposal, there’s a lot of bizarre stories. Cummings tries to dial down the sensationalism in her book though, discussing why royals persisted in intermarrying and having children despite the (to us at least) obvious consequences of their actions.
Starting in antiquity but focusing more on families in the late medieval period onward, she discusses the stories of a number of royals who suffered from the effects of inbreeding, whether physical or mental, going in depth on families such as the Hapsburgs, the Hanovers, and the Wittelsbachs. I appreciated how she addressed the suffering royals with compassion and empathy, placing their strange-seeming actions in the context of the times.
However, I did feel that she was prone to speculation in places, for example when discussing the mental health of such royals as Cleopatra, Mary I of England, and Mary Queen of Scots – without real evidence produced to support her arguments, they felt flimsy. I enjoyed the book most where she focused on one or two figures for the length of a chapter; I wondered if I would have enjoyed the book more had the author narrowed its scope, especially if she’d jettisoned much of the less factually-supported first half.
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.
March 20, 2024
0.5/5
I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher
Inbreeding is the reproduction between closely related individuals which increases the chances of the offprings being affected by recessive traits that can affect their physical and mental health. Until the work of Gregor Mendel, and other scientists who embraced his ideas, this wasn't understood and thus there's a lot of historical evidence of people affected by this practice. While maybe not as common within the regular people, those of royal birth and high status practiced inbreeding to keep power between the same small group of individuals, often with disastrous consequences. This book attempts to untangle the web of incest that plaged the royal families for centuries and give us a taste of the repercussions of said practice in historical events.
For a book that seems interested in shedding light on the tangible consequences of intermarriage there is too much speculation and supposition. While anecdotal evidence can be a helpful start point for developing the big picture it cannot be given the same weight as actual confirmed sources, especially when we're talking about biology. I understand that we cannot, say, perform an autopsy on any of the historical figures mentioned in this book but the author could have dug depper into the science of inbreeding itself instead of just making wild guesses. There were too many instances of simply assuming that someone was mentally ill because of inbreeding with zero explanation of the relation between those two points or any exploration of other reasons. Sure, genetics play a part in things like depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, etc, but how? why?
I find myself distrustful of anything I read in this book due to some glaring mistakes and assumptions. I see a lot of hearsay being taken as fact, like saying Caligula had incestuous relationships with his sisters which is something that we have no proof of and that was first mentioned in a biography 80 years after his death. Or assuring readers that Philip Christoph von Königsmarck was buried under the floor of Sophia Dorothea of Celle's rooms when yes, bones were found there but investigations have come to the conclusion that they're probably not his and are a mix of multiple humans and animals. All along the book you will find instances of gossip being presented as truth or places where the author has omitted extra information that doesn't fit the tone of the book or the point she's trying to make. There are probably more examples of this, I've caught a couple more but that's only because I am familiar with some of the history it's referring to or because it sounded so ludicrous that I had to at least google it. Who knows what else I've missed.
There are also editing mistakes and while I understand that this is an ARC it inspires even less confidence in the contents of this book. Paragraphs repeating, names changed (saying Ferdinand was Charles V's father for example when he was actually his grandfather), missing words, and incorrect attribution of sources. Where were the editors? The fact checkers? Besides all that I've previously mentioned the book isn't particularly interesting. There is no new approach or innovation regarding the subject matter. The book concludes with one (1) paragraph and that's it. I fear that this was only a vehicle for salacious gossip and speculation. Save you time and skip it.
I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher
Inbreeding is the reproduction between closely related individuals which increases the chances of the offprings being affected by recessive traits that can affect their physical and mental health. Until the work of Gregor Mendel, and other scientists who embraced his ideas, this wasn't understood and thus there's a lot of historical evidence of people affected by this practice. While maybe not as common within the regular people, those of royal birth and high status practiced inbreeding to keep power between the same small group of individuals, often with disastrous consequences. This book attempts to untangle the web of incest that plaged the royal families for centuries and give us a taste of the repercussions of said practice in historical events.
For a book that seems interested in shedding light on the tangible consequences of intermarriage there is too much speculation and supposition. While anecdotal evidence can be a helpful start point for developing the big picture it cannot be given the same weight as actual confirmed sources, especially when we're talking about biology. I understand that we cannot, say, perform an autopsy on any of the historical figures mentioned in this book but the author could have dug depper into the science of inbreeding itself instead of just making wild guesses. There were too many instances of simply assuming that someone was mentally ill because of inbreeding with zero explanation of the relation between those two points or any exploration of other reasons. Sure, genetics play a part in things like depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, etc, but how? why?
I find myself distrustful of anything I read in this book due to some glaring mistakes and assumptions. I see a lot of hearsay being taken as fact, like saying Caligula had incestuous relationships with his sisters which is something that we have no proof of and that was first mentioned in a biography 80 years after his death. Or assuring readers that Philip Christoph von Königsmarck was buried under the floor of Sophia Dorothea of Celle's rooms when yes, bones were found there but investigations have come to the conclusion that they're probably not his and are a mix of multiple humans and animals. All along the book you will find instances of gossip being presented as truth or places where the author has omitted extra information that doesn't fit the tone of the book or the point she's trying to make. There are probably more examples of this, I've caught a couple more but that's only because I am familiar with some of the history it's referring to or because it sounded so ludicrous that I had to at least google it. Who knows what else I've missed.
There are also editing mistakes and while I understand that this is an ARC it inspires even less confidence in the contents of this book. Paragraphs repeating, names changed (saying Ferdinand was Charles V's father for example when he was actually his grandfather), missing words, and incorrect attribution of sources. Where were the editors? The fact checkers? Besides all that I've previously mentioned the book isn't particularly interesting. There is no new approach or innovation regarding the subject matter. The book concludes with one (1) paragraph and that's it. I fear that this was only a vehicle for salacious gossip and speculation. Save you time and skip it.
March 19, 2024
An interesting subject, but the book fell short in execution. Poorly structured and with way too much speculation, all presented as fact.
March 23, 2024
This topic has always fascinated me to some degree. I learned a lot of new things. I thought the book flowed well and did not get too technical. I felt I could easily follow and it certainly kept my interest. We learn about European royalty and Egyptian royalty. This was a great non fiction book with evident research. I read it in two sittings!! Thank you Netgalley for the chance to review.
March 10, 2024
This detailed, thoroughly researched book covers many decades and countries to give an intriguing insight into the health of royal families across the world. There are some well known cases included but also many more obscure cases which are equally fascinating. The author does a very good job of exploring cases within their historical context, noting how the beliefs and biases against homosexuality and mental illness influenced the treatment of people; For those reading on kindle, it’s well worth continuing past the end notes to review the photographs and diagrams included.
June 26, 2024
This book is such a disappointment. Poorly written, dreadful proofreading and a complete lack of family trees, which is essential for this subject. Anyone who has read even the first 20 pages will see how dull it is, how poorly researched and the fact that the proofreader appeared to be asleep! How can Pen and Sword produce a book where the photo credits are attributed to BBC - portraits of Tudor monarchs in Royal Collection, Wikipedia (Henry VI manuscript illustration) and popsugar (portrait of Queen Victoria from Royal Collection)!! It is so unprofessional and this is reflected throughout the book. The author clearly has very little interest in the subject and churned it out for the money.
I contacted the publishers, Pen and Sword as follows
The book as a whole presents a very unprofessional work. The proofreading is appalling - for example on page 89 we find this beauty:
“In 1736, Frederick married Princess Augusta of Sade-Coburg (1719-1722)”!
This is only one of numerous typos that should have been corrected before publishing.
The subject of the book is the complexity of royal marriages and relationships over hundreds of years. It is obvious that needs a decent set of family trees to illustrate the relationships. There isn’t even one family tree - a glaring error. It’s obvious the writer has little knowledge about the complex relationships she is writing about - for example, there is no connection made between Prince Leopold, the husband of Princess Charlotte, and Princess Victoire, the mother of Queen Victoria - they were brother and sister! Another brother, Ernst, was the father of Prince Albert, who went on to marry Victoria. This is just one example of a more complete and in depth understanding of the subject one expects from a book such as this.
Credits for photographs and illustrations - the author does not credit the owner of these images, but rather the webpage she has copied the image from. So we see the BBC credited for Tudor portraits, popsugar credited for a portrait of Queen Victoria, and so on. This is, frankly, something one might to see in a self-published book - not one from an actual publisher.
There is an illustration of Mendel’s Law of Heredity - yet at no point does the author attempt to explain this diagram. There is only a single, short paragraph on page 3.
Page 6 contains the statement “Inbreeding or reproduction between blood relatives is a practice that is considered taboo throughout the world”. I believe the author is American and am aware that in some US states marriage between first cousins is prohibited. There is no such prohibition or taboo in the UK, where this book is published. No source ss given for this statement, or this one on page 7 “relations between first cousins double the risk of infant death and mental and physical disabilities”. One such source may be BMJ 2013;347:f4374 where the abstract states
“Researchers followed 13 776 pregnancies in Bradford and found that 6.1% of children born to first cousins had congenital anomalies and that 98% of these children were born to people of Pakistani origin. This compared with a 2.4% risk of congenital anomalies in non-consanguineous marriages in the study (multivariate relative risk 2.2 (95% confidence interval 1.7 to 2.9) and a background risk of 1.7% in the UK population”
Adding in this factual information does present the statement in a different light. In my opinion, the author has done only a cursory glance at the Royal Families of Europe and trotted out facts without decent interpretation or explanation. Her writing style is very dry and uninteresting.
In my opinion, this book is seriously flawed and shoddily produced. It is the first time I have bought a book published by Pen and Sword and I am very disappointed with the product. For the price of £25 I expected a lot more. I hope that this author and her team are not representative of other books published by you.
Sarah-Beth Watkins of Pen and Sword responded “I am sorry this has fallen below our usual standards and we are taking it up with the author and proofreader of the said title” and then she wrote “This has been raised with both the author and production who are addressing the situation and making amendments.
The quality of the work has also been raised with our Publishing Manager.
This is now being dealt with in-house”
So, clear admissions of the shoddy production - yet the book remains for sale on their website.
Pen and Sword have refused to refund my money, as I bought the book via Amazon. As it is outwith the 30 day return period, I can’t get my money back from Amazon, which is fair enough. So that’s me £25 out of pocket.
Pen and Sword are just incompetent. Avoid at all costs
I contacted the publishers, Pen and Sword as follows
The book as a whole presents a very unprofessional work. The proofreading is appalling - for example on page 89 we find this beauty:
“In 1736, Frederick married Princess Augusta of Sade-Coburg (1719-1722)”!
This is only one of numerous typos that should have been corrected before publishing.
The subject of the book is the complexity of royal marriages and relationships over hundreds of years. It is obvious that needs a decent set of family trees to illustrate the relationships. There isn’t even one family tree - a glaring error. It’s obvious the writer has little knowledge about the complex relationships she is writing about - for example, there is no connection made between Prince Leopold, the husband of Princess Charlotte, and Princess Victoire, the mother of Queen Victoria - they were brother and sister! Another brother, Ernst, was the father of Prince Albert, who went on to marry Victoria. This is just one example of a more complete and in depth understanding of the subject one expects from a book such as this.
Credits for photographs and illustrations - the author does not credit the owner of these images, but rather the webpage she has copied the image from. So we see the BBC credited for Tudor portraits, popsugar credited for a portrait of Queen Victoria, and so on. This is, frankly, something one might to see in a self-published book - not one from an actual publisher.
There is an illustration of Mendel’s Law of Heredity - yet at no point does the author attempt to explain this diagram. There is only a single, short paragraph on page 3.
Page 6 contains the statement “Inbreeding or reproduction between blood relatives is a practice that is considered taboo throughout the world”. I believe the author is American and am aware that in some US states marriage between first cousins is prohibited. There is no such prohibition or taboo in the UK, where this book is published. No source ss given for this statement, or this one on page 7 “relations between first cousins double the risk of infant death and mental and physical disabilities”. One such source may be BMJ 2013;347:f4374 where the abstract states
“Researchers followed 13 776 pregnancies in Bradford and found that 6.1% of children born to first cousins had congenital anomalies and that 98% of these children were born to people of Pakistani origin. This compared with a 2.4% risk of congenital anomalies in non-consanguineous marriages in the study (multivariate relative risk 2.2 (95% confidence interval 1.7 to 2.9) and a background risk of 1.7% in the UK population”
Adding in this factual information does present the statement in a different light. In my opinion, the author has done only a cursory glance at the Royal Families of Europe and trotted out facts without decent interpretation or explanation. Her writing style is very dry and uninteresting.
In my opinion, this book is seriously flawed and shoddily produced. It is the first time I have bought a book published by Pen and Sword and I am very disappointed with the product. For the price of £25 I expected a lot more. I hope that this author and her team are not representative of other books published by you.
Sarah-Beth Watkins of Pen and Sword responded “I am sorry this has fallen below our usual standards and we are taking it up with the author and proofreader of the said title” and then she wrote “This has been raised with both the author and production who are addressing the situation and making amendments.
The quality of the work has also been raised with our Publishing Manager.
This is now being dealt with in-house”
So, clear admissions of the shoddy production - yet the book remains for sale on their website.
Pen and Sword have refused to refund my money, as I bought the book via Amazon. As it is outwith the 30 day return period, I can’t get my money back from Amazon, which is fair enough. So that’s me £25 out of pocket.
Pen and Sword are just incompetent. Avoid at all costs
Read
March 22, 2024In Julia Cummings latest nonfiction book we learn about the Royals and the effects and breeding his head on the family from prince Charles to the doomed czar Alexander and his family there’s lots to discuss the family has married from Spain to Germany Austria Portugal and other places and it’s all too closely related relatives and then one case and uncle to his niece and although a half niece still… Gross! She even wrote about how some of the treatments only exacerbated the issue and it’s some Cason hasten the death of the sufferers . From madness to hemophilia to all the stillborn babies they were many consequences to marrying in family and she even talked about in the beginning of the book other families that married each other from Australia to America and even Europe I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I loved how she put historian and medical experts best guess at what really may have happened to these historical figures the one I felt most badly for however it was queen wanna The two men who should have been mostly looking out for her best which was her husband and her father were only looking out for their self and then sadly her son when he became king he did it as well. I couldn’t believe when I came to write my review for this awesome book that anyone would give this a two or a one star because just the work that goes into writing a nonfiction book with such great well researched information not to mention the interesting way she presented it deserves way more than just a blasé dismissal because you think what the author wrote about queen Isabella putting queen wanna on the stretching rack isn’t true but keep in mind historians disagree and I’ve come to take nothing for granted when it comes to what’s written in history because not only are they finding new documents every day writing such an anxty review really makes the reviewer look bad and not the author of this fabulous book. Especially when you do not site a reference that proves the author wrong. This is only my third book by Miss Cummings but like the ones before it will not be my last. This is a great book well researched and well executed and it is a book I highly recommend a total five-star read. I want to thank Pen and Sword press and Net Galley for my free Ark copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.
May 7, 2024
Over time, because of the relatively limited number of potential consorts, the gene pool of many ruling families grew progressively smaller, until all European royalty was related. This also resulted in many being descended from a certain person through many lines of descent, such as the numerous European royalty descended from Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom or King Christian IX of Denmark.As a result, royal intermarriages became consanguine marriages, which lead to both new health issues arising and existing ones being compounded.
The House of Habsburg frequently practiced consanguine marriages as a way of consolidating the dynasty's political power, with both first cousin and uncle–niece pairings common. The most visible consequence of this was an extended lower chin (mandibular prognathism), which was typical for many Habsburg relatives over a period of six centuries; the jaw deformity is so closely associated with the family that it is commonly known as the "Habsburg jaw or Lip".The Spanish branch took this practice to an extreme: of the eleven marriages contracted by Spanish monarchs between 1450 and 1661, 9 contained some element of consanguinity.The last of the Spanish line, Charles II—who was severely disabled from birth and possibly impotent—possessed a genome comparable to that of a child born to a brother and sister.The House of Wittelsbach suffered from several cases of mental and physical illnesses,often attributed to their frequent intermarriages.Ancient Egypt had sibling marriages such as the Thutmoside and Ptolemaic dynasties.Inbreeding results in homozygosity, which can increase the chances of offspring being affected by recessive traits.Autosomal recessive disorders occur in individuals who have two copies of an allele for a particular recessive genetic mutation.Except rare circumstances, such as new mutations or uniparental disomy, both parents of an individual with such a disorder will be carriers of the gene.These carriers do not display any signs of the mutation and may be unaware that they carry the mutated gene.Inbred royals suffered from mental and physical impairments, excess mortality, and reproductive problems.
The House of Habsburg frequently practiced consanguine marriages as a way of consolidating the dynasty's political power, with both first cousin and uncle–niece pairings common. The most visible consequence of this was an extended lower chin (mandibular prognathism), which was typical for many Habsburg relatives over a period of six centuries; the jaw deformity is so closely associated with the family that it is commonly known as the "Habsburg jaw or Lip".The Spanish branch took this practice to an extreme: of the eleven marriages contracted by Spanish monarchs between 1450 and 1661, 9 contained some element of consanguinity.The last of the Spanish line, Charles II—who was severely disabled from birth and possibly impotent—possessed a genome comparable to that of a child born to a brother and sister.The House of Wittelsbach suffered from several cases of mental and physical illnesses,often attributed to their frequent intermarriages.Ancient Egypt had sibling marriages such as the Thutmoside and Ptolemaic dynasties.Inbreeding results in homozygosity, which can increase the chances of offspring being affected by recessive traits.Autosomal recessive disorders occur in individuals who have two copies of an allele for a particular recessive genetic mutation.Except rare circumstances, such as new mutations or uniparental disomy, both parents of an individual with such a disorder will be carriers of the gene.These carriers do not display any signs of the mutation and may be unaware that they carry the mutated gene.Inbred royals suffered from mental and physical impairments, excess mortality, and reproductive problems.
March 21, 2024
Royal Inbreeding and Other Maladies by Juliana Cummings is a novel that focus on the strange but true history of Europes ruling families throughout history.
Cummings begins with the Egyptian rulers tradition of keeping the bloodline pure by marrying siblings together. History knows that Cleopatra married both of her younger brothers in her time on the throne of Egypt, but she never had children with either of them. Had she done so, what would the lives of these children have been like? Would they have ended up like King Tut, who researchers are know learning may have had a clubbed foot, full breasts, and numerous other genetic conditions from having been the off spring of a line derived of genetic siblings of several generations?
Even European Royals did not escape these genetic disasters. While it became more understood that siblings should not be wed, the royals had no concerns about marriage of close relations, such as uncles and nieces, or first cousins. You will find the results of centuries of inbreeding in prime examples such as the Hapsburg ruler Charles, who’s jaw was so wide he could not close it and continually drooled all the way to more modern royals, such as the Romanov’s, where poor Alexei suffered from the royal disease, more commonly known as hemophilia. Hemophilia was carried through out Europe to many families, as all of the children and grandchildren of Queen Victoria married and entwined even further together.
I would have liked more unique information in this novel, as a lot of this is a rehashing of mostly common knowledge facts that have been repeated through out time. I found myself comparing it to another novel I had read, “Royal Babylon.” However, there were some parts of history, that I did appreciate being dived more deeply into, such as with Juana “the Mad” of Castile, Empress Sisi of Austria and her cousin King Ludwig. This is definitely a novel for fans of history, but while not ground breaking, will certainly provided a fun and quick read.
I would like to thank Pen& Sword as well as NetGalley for the e-advanced reader copy.
Cummings begins with the Egyptian rulers tradition of keeping the bloodline pure by marrying siblings together. History knows that Cleopatra married both of her younger brothers in her time on the throne of Egypt, but she never had children with either of them. Had she done so, what would the lives of these children have been like? Would they have ended up like King Tut, who researchers are know learning may have had a clubbed foot, full breasts, and numerous other genetic conditions from having been the off spring of a line derived of genetic siblings of several generations?
Even European Royals did not escape these genetic disasters. While it became more understood that siblings should not be wed, the royals had no concerns about marriage of close relations, such as uncles and nieces, or first cousins. You will find the results of centuries of inbreeding in prime examples such as the Hapsburg ruler Charles, who’s jaw was so wide he could not close it and continually drooled all the way to more modern royals, such as the Romanov’s, where poor Alexei suffered from the royal disease, more commonly known as hemophilia. Hemophilia was carried through out Europe to many families, as all of the children and grandchildren of Queen Victoria married and entwined even further together.
I would have liked more unique information in this novel, as a lot of this is a rehashing of mostly common knowledge facts that have been repeated through out time. I found myself comparing it to another novel I had read, “Royal Babylon.” However, there were some parts of history, that I did appreciate being dived more deeply into, such as with Juana “the Mad” of Castile, Empress Sisi of Austria and her cousin King Ludwig. This is definitely a novel for fans of history, but while not ground breaking, will certainly provided a fun and quick read.
I would like to thank Pen& Sword as well as NetGalley for the e-advanced reader copy.
May 19, 2024
Royal Inbreeding and Other Maladies by Juliana Cummings
Rating: 3 Stars
In "Royal Inbreeding and Other Maladies: A History of Royal Intermarriage and its Consequences" by Juliana Cummings, readers are taken on a captivating journey through the intricate history of royal marriages and the profound impact of inbreeding on monarchies. Cummings sheds light on the dark side of royalty, revealing the devastating consequences that stemmed from centuries of intermarriage among ruling families.
The book delves into the harrowing tales of prominent royal figures such as George III of England, Juana of Castile, and the Russian Royal Family, whose lives were marred by mental illness and genetic afflictions due to inbreeding practices. Cummings masterfully weaves together narratives of power, tragedy, and resilience, painting a poignant picture of the struggles faced by these monarchs as they grappled with the repercussions of their familial unions.
While some aspects of the book may come off as speculative, particularly in the portrayal of figures like Cleopatra and Mary Queen of Scots, Cummings excels in her detailed exploration of royals such as King Ludwig, Juana “the Mad” of Castile, and Empress Sisi. By offering a deeper insight into the lives of these historical figures, the author invites readers to empathize with the challenges they endured as a result of genetic predispositions and societal expectations.
"Royal Inbreeding and Other Maladies" stands out for its ability to captivate readers with its engaging narrative and meticulous research into the complexities of royal genetics. The book's cover art is striking and sets the tone for the compelling stories that lie within its pages. While some historical interpretations may be subject to scrutiny, the overall depth and breadth of information presented make it a valuable read for those intrigued by European royalty and its tumultuous history.
⚠️This review was written based on personal opinions and experiences with the book. Individual preferences may vary⚠️
Rating: 3 Stars
In "Royal Inbreeding and Other Maladies: A History of Royal Intermarriage and its Consequences" by Juliana Cummings, readers are taken on a captivating journey through the intricate history of royal marriages and the profound impact of inbreeding on monarchies. Cummings sheds light on the dark side of royalty, revealing the devastating consequences that stemmed from centuries of intermarriage among ruling families.
The book delves into the harrowing tales of prominent royal figures such as George III of England, Juana of Castile, and the Russian Royal Family, whose lives were marred by mental illness and genetic afflictions due to inbreeding practices. Cummings masterfully weaves together narratives of power, tragedy, and resilience, painting a poignant picture of the struggles faced by these monarchs as they grappled with the repercussions of their familial unions.
While some aspects of the book may come off as speculative, particularly in the portrayal of figures like Cleopatra and Mary Queen of Scots, Cummings excels in her detailed exploration of royals such as King Ludwig, Juana “the Mad” of Castile, and Empress Sisi. By offering a deeper insight into the lives of these historical figures, the author invites readers to empathize with the challenges they endured as a result of genetic predispositions and societal expectations.
"Royal Inbreeding and Other Maladies" stands out for its ability to captivate readers with its engaging narrative and meticulous research into the complexities of royal genetics. The book's cover art is striking and sets the tone for the compelling stories that lie within its pages. While some historical interpretations may be subject to scrutiny, the overall depth and breadth of information presented make it a valuable read for those intrigued by European royalty and its tumultuous history.
⚠️This review was written based on personal opinions and experiences with the book. Individual preferences may vary⚠️
May 17, 2024
In this fascinating and mildly horrifying history book, Juliana Cummings introduces readers to the history of royal inbreeding in Europe and Egypt since ancient times through the twentieth century. This book, with its detail, primary documents, and mildly disturbing historical biographies and medical jargon, is truly impossible to put down or look away from. Full of detail, the case studies which Cummings explores in this novel are horrifying yet fascinating, and she treats this subject with academic respect, which is incredibly admirable. The depth of research in this book is apparent in every page, and the length is easily manageable for readers of all backgrounds. From the Habsburgs to the Ptolemys, this book covers a massive swath of history, and no one dynasty outweighs another; Cummings balances so many historical narratives and eras perfectly in this book. With its medical historical analysis and the inclusion of various medical theories behind these incestuous marriages, this book balances a traditional history of royalty with a history of medicine, a particularly enjoyable combination. This un-put-down-able historical nonfiction book is a must-read for fans of the history of European royalty and the history of medicine, and Cummings’s latest book is an absolutely fascinating read.
April 27, 2024
Princess Fuzzypants here: I knew there was a lot of inbreeding in the various royal families throughout history but I admit to being amazed at how much there was even when it became obvious there were some genes that were doing more harm than good. Of course, since progeny were either potential rulers or pawns in power games, volume was more important than health.
Insanity seems to have been the most pernicious trait that seemed to gallop through families. But there were other things like physical defects that would make the lives of those unfortunate enough to be the recipients a misery. One might think the wealth and privilege would be a salve for the pain but there were many whose most fervent wish was to be released from it. It is not too hard to feel some sympathy for those whose futures were determined by the desire to keep the bloodline pure. And in the attempt to ward off any outside influence we are talking about the closest of relationships with each other. Game of Thrones has nothing on some of these families.
Well researched and presented, the book offers insights into the costs of inbreeding. Four purrs and two paws up.
Insanity seems to have been the most pernicious trait that seemed to gallop through families. But there were other things like physical defects that would make the lives of those unfortunate enough to be the recipients a misery. One might think the wealth and privilege would be a salve for the pain but there were many whose most fervent wish was to be released from it. It is not too hard to feel some sympathy for those whose futures were determined by the desire to keep the bloodline pure. And in the attempt to ward off any outside influence we are talking about the closest of relationships with each other. Game of Thrones has nothing on some of these families.
Well researched and presented, the book offers insights into the costs of inbreeding. Four purrs and two paws up.
August 18, 2024
It was interesting reading this book, whilst looking at things with a 21st century lens. Of COURSE you don't marry your uncle/brother etc etc, who DOES that?? Yeah, they did, a lot :( I get that back in the day, people got married for reasons other than love, but there was absolutely an ick factor at work here.......
This was a well-researched book and I enjoyed reading about all the spectacular ways that the royal houses of Europe wrecked their family trees. It is a miracle that some of them even managed to continue on until the present day.
You have to feel sorry for the children who had to put up with some major defects along the way, if they even survived infancy.
4 stars from me.
Thank you to NetGalley and Pen & Sword.
This was a well-researched book and I enjoyed reading about all the spectacular ways that the royal houses of Europe wrecked their family trees. It is a miracle that some of them even managed to continue on until the present day.
You have to feel sorry for the children who had to put up with some major defects along the way, if they even survived infancy.
4 stars from me.
Thank you to NetGalley and Pen & Sword.
March 30, 2024
‘While each dynasty may have had different formalities, they all had one thing in common: intermarriage was intentional.’
Juliana looks into inbreeding and the consequences of this taken place.
We learn about Tutankhamun’s painful afflictions to King George III’s mental health and the rare blood disorder that affected Queen Victoria’s family to name but a few.
Juliana has clearly done a lot of research into this topic, and I found myself surprisingly consumed with every chapter.
The key message from this book? Don’t sleep with your relatives!!!
However, throughout history this has been ignored either due to naivety or because of the strong desire to keep ‘their bloodlines pure’.
You can read this book without knowing any prior history.
I always find with these history books, that they add many more books to ones TBR!
‘Philip and Mariana were convinced that the death of their children was a punishment from God and had no understanding that the family’s incessant inbreeding likely caused it.’
4.75 stars. It just missed the 5 star mark because towards the last few chapters I was losing interest.
A must read for history lovers. Very interesting and unputdownable.
Juliana looks into inbreeding and the consequences of this taken place.
We learn about Tutankhamun’s painful afflictions to King George III’s mental health and the rare blood disorder that affected Queen Victoria’s family to name but a few.
Juliana has clearly done a lot of research into this topic, and I found myself surprisingly consumed with every chapter.
The key message from this book? Don’t sleep with your relatives!!!
However, throughout history this has been ignored either due to naivety or because of the strong desire to keep ‘their bloodlines pure’.
You can read this book without knowing any prior history.
I always find with these history books, that they add many more books to ones TBR!
‘Philip and Mariana were convinced that the death of their children was a punishment from God and had no understanding that the family’s incessant inbreeding likely caused it.’
4.75 stars. It just missed the 5 star mark because towards the last few chapters I was losing interest.
A must read for history lovers. Very interesting and unputdownable.
March 29, 2024
This is an interesting collection and summary of known consequences of inbreeding within royal families. If you're a reader invested in learning about European royalty and beyond, you'll likely already be familiar with the people written about in this book.
I feel like readers who want a basic understanding of these people could read this one, but I'd look into other books for more in depth information. I also feel like this book did a decent job at not dehumanizing the individuals mentioned.
I feel like readers who want a basic understanding of these people could read this one, but I'd look into other books for more in depth information. I also feel like this book did a decent job at not dehumanizing the individuals mentioned.
May 7, 2024
This book examines the dark genetic consequences of royal inbreeding, from the Ptolemies to the European dynasties. Discover the impact on physical health, mental illness, and deformities. Witness the toll on monarchs in their desperate attempts to preserve power through intermarriage.
Interesting and informative, this book fails to take a scientific approach, instead relying on rumor and supposition. If you’re looking for entertainment, this is a good choice, but it’s not a scholarly work.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
Interesting and informative, this book fails to take a scientific approach, instead relying on rumor and supposition. If you’re looking for entertainment, this is a good choice, but it’s not a scholarly work.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
March 27, 2024
*Thank you so much to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the chance to review an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*
This was such a good read, and it had a lot of interesting information. The information was laid out in an easy to understand format, and was easy to understand. I enjoyed how each chapter was set up and truly learned so much from this book. I recommend this book to anyone who has a fascination with history or even genetics.
This was such a good read, and it had a lot of interesting information. The information was laid out in an easy to understand format, and was easy to understand. I enjoyed how each chapter was set up and truly learned so much from this book. I recommend this book to anyone who has a fascination with history or even genetics.
March 28, 2024
Thank you Netgalley for an advanced copy!
An interesting look at European history circa 1500 - 1920, with a brief look at the ancient Egyptians and some modern rural Appalachian and Australian farming families at the beginning, all focused on the problems - both physical and political - when people reproduce with their close relatives.
I was amused at Cummings surprise that out of all the inbreeding examples, the Ptolemy's showed the least amount of physical and mental problems, despite all the brother / sister and uncle / niece marriages. Personally, I am absolutely convinced that more than one Polemic queen accidently helped save the family from inbreeding by cheating on their brother-husbands. After all - who do you want to sleep with - the hot royal guard or your sulky little brother? And an Egyptian princess is going to have a much easier time having a quicky and getting in and out of a simple linen sheath dress while any Hapsburg princess needs about half a day and four handmaids to get in and out of those Renaissance get ups.
Anyway, its a very important lens to look at history, considering what an impact biology had on politics, given that the inbreeding was being practice by those with the most power. It can be difficult to diagnose from such a distance, but Cummings does a good job showing how many actions and traits were most likely caused by the overlay of recessive genes.
I would have liked if the book had been more chronological instead of doubling back to cover first Queen Victoria and then Tzar Nicholas before doubling back to cover the Hapsburgs, but all of the royal families were fascinating in just how wrong things could go. It does stick very much to Europe - I would have loved to have learned more about the inbreeding in Japan's royal family and what kind of restrictive marriages other countries had, but what is here is fascinating.
An interesting look at European history circa 1500 - 1920, with a brief look at the ancient Egyptians and some modern rural Appalachian and Australian farming families at the beginning, all focused on the problems - both physical and political - when people reproduce with their close relatives.
I was amused at Cummings surprise that out of all the inbreeding examples, the Ptolemy's showed the least amount of physical and mental problems, despite all the brother / sister and uncle / niece marriages. Personally, I am absolutely convinced that more than one Polemic queen accidently helped save the family from inbreeding by cheating on their brother-husbands. After all - who do you want to sleep with - the hot royal guard or your sulky little brother? And an Egyptian princess is going to have a much easier time having a quicky and getting in and out of a simple linen sheath dress while any Hapsburg princess needs about half a day and four handmaids to get in and out of those Renaissance get ups.
Anyway, its a very important lens to look at history, considering what an impact biology had on politics, given that the inbreeding was being practice by those with the most power. It can be difficult to diagnose from such a distance, but Cummings does a good job showing how many actions and traits were most likely caused by the overlay of recessive genes.
I would have liked if the book had been more chronological instead of doubling back to cover first Queen Victoria and then Tzar Nicholas before doubling back to cover the Hapsburgs, but all of the royal families were fascinating in just how wrong things could go. It does stick very much to Europe - I would have loved to have learned more about the inbreeding in Japan's royal family and what kind of restrictive marriages other countries had, but what is here is fascinating.
May 18, 2024
I wanted to like this book a lot more than I did. Most of the families mentioned are some of my favourites to learn about and research, but this was a struggle to even finish.
It relied too much on sensationalism and had far too many cases of conjecture, leaping to conclusions, and factual errors. Can't recommend this one at all sadly.
Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy
It relied too much on sensationalism and had far too many cases of conjecture, leaping to conclusions, and factual errors. Can't recommend this one at all sadly.
Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy
July 8, 2024
This was an interesting look at the long history of royal relatives marrying one another. There was much speculation involved however, so it's difficult to know how true some of these reports are. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC.
July 14, 2024
This book is an in-depth look at the effects of inbreeding in royal families from ancient times until the 19th century, which could often be horrific, as in the case of Carlos II ("the Bewitched"), the last Habsburg king of Spain, the most famous example. Although there was some good information, I found it to be extremely disorganized in its presentation, a little heavy on speculation, which is sometimes necessary when talking about ancient people for whom there is little documentation but should be used cautiously, and in some places of questionable accuracy. As an example, the claim that Isabella of Spain had her daughter Juana essentially tortured for her unorthodox religious beliefs appears dubious from my (admittedly cursory) check, and whatever those beliefs were, they were most certainly not "Protestant," as Protestantism didn't begin until after Isabella's death.
I also felt that, possibly to compensate for the scant information available in the earlier parts, the detail given on the later personalities, particularly Empress Elisabeth of Austria and her cousin Ludwig of Bavaria, was somewhat excessive.
I also felt that, possibly to compensate for the scant information available in the earlier parts, the detail given on the later personalities, particularly Empress Elisabeth of Austria and her cousin Ludwig of Bavaria, was somewhat excessive.
August 16, 2025
Although the subject of the book certainly is interesting, and the book is well written, the book does, however, have a striking number of notable errors. It’s not just a lot of typos, but also real errors, such as Louis XV being called the son of Louis XIV (while he was his great-grandson). The book hasn’t an index.
March 17, 2025
So many editing errors with repeating sentences / whole paragraphs that should've been flagged out had anyone bothered to review it properly before publishing.
It started off somewhat interesting but became repetitive, especially as the author repeated her theory that inbreeding = mental illness without supporting arguments on biology.
Premise was interesting, book was poorly executed.
It started off somewhat interesting but became repetitive, especially as the author repeated her theory that inbreeding = mental illness without supporting arguments on biology.
Premise was interesting, book was poorly executed.
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