Royal Murder: The Deadly Intrigue of Ten Sovereigns

by Elizabeth MacLeod

What would you do for absolute power? For many monarchs throughout history, it was a question that ruled their lives. Step into the world of palatial intrigue, where holding the throne means evading death … or causing it. Some sovereigns were cunning at avoiding their killers. Cleopatra of Egypt once rolled herself into a rug and was carried out past her enemies’ noses. Other royals were brutal when dealing with foes. Vlad the Impaler’s monstrous methods inspired the legend of Dracula the vampire. From monarchs murdered at the hands of their subjects to kings killed on the battle field, the stories of ten royals are told: • Cleopatra of Egypt (69 BCE – 30 BCE) • Vlad III the Impaler of Wallachia (1431 – 1476) • “Bloody Mary” I (1516 – 1558) • Mary, Queen of Scots (1542 – 1587) • Elizabeth I (1533 – 1603) • Louis XVI (1754 – 1793) • Marie Antoinette (1755 – 1793) • The Romanovs of Russia (1872 – 1918) A final section offers examples from the 20th century, from assassination attempts in England to a royal massacre in Nepal. Blending dramatic storytelling and historical fact, and complete with fascinating photographs and artwork, Royal Murder is a compelling account of scheming sovereigns.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Biography, True Crime, Royalty, Childrens

128 pages, Paperback

First published April 17, 2008

About the author

Elizabeth MacLeod was born on October 21 in Toronto. As a child Liz liked to read Nancy Drew and Anne of Green Gables books, swim, sing, dance, and hang out with her friends. Encouraged by her parents, she began writing stories and poetry for her own enjoyment at the age of 10, her favorite subjects being mad scientists and tyrants who threatened to take over the world.

Today Liz is inspired by almost anything--her friends, reading, and the funny, beautiful world around her. Her first job in publishing was at OWL magazine, and Liz credits editor Sylvia Funston as one of her mentors. Liz also names Valerie Wyatt, a writer and editor, as an important influence on her work, as well as a good friend.

An avid reader, Liz enjoyed digging up amazing facts and researching historic royals and their countries and customs for Royal Murder (2008). She encourages anyone with a desire to write to "just do it." Even if no one ever reads it, the joy that comes from expressing yourself through words is reward enough. Liz adds that writing takes practice, and with each day you are bound to improve.

Liz lives in Toronto with her husband, Paul, and their two cats, Smedley and Cosmo.

She enjoys keeping active, spending time with friends, music, theater, and cheering on the Toronto Maple Leafs. Liz plans to continue writing about a broad spectrum of topics in both fiction and non-fiction, and would like to work on more picture books in the future.

Reviews

[Breck Ekenberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting, I learned tons of new information.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty light that I've had on my to read list for a while. Contains the more popular monarchs that you'd expect in a book like this: Cleopatra, Marie Antoinette, King Richard ... the little prologue at the end featured brief notes about those that sounded a great deal more interesting because they aren't as well known. It also is kind of ambiguous about what makes them "deadly." For intentionally causing the death or because death follows them? Marie Antoinette didn't order anyone to die and neither did the Romanovs. They were simply unfortunate royals who were placed in a role they weren't prepared for.

[Canadian Children's Book Centre]

If royalty, history or true crime is your thing, you will find thrills and chills galore in this new book by prolific biographer Elizabeth MacLeod. The author, who has chronicled the lives of many good and famous people, now explores the dark and bloody history of some not-so nice historical figures. She begins chronologically with Cleopatra, that icon of beauty and power. Cleopatra was born into the Egyptian royal family, one with a long history of familial murder. Blessed with beauty, brains and a great sense of style, Cleopatra rose to great heights of power and was responsible for the deaths of several of her siblings. After passionate marriages to Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, she avoided assassination only by taking her own life with the bite of a deadly asp. Vlad Dracul, more commonly known as Vlad the Impaler, and glorified in legend as Count Dracula, came from another dysfunctional family in what is now Romania. As a child, he was used as a pawn in the constant wars that were being fought in the kingdom. He grew to be a nasty and violent ruler whose preferred method for execution was to impale his victims on great poles. He would often enjoy a meal while viewing the carnage. Who killed Vlad is not certain, but his head was displayed on a stake to show that he was well and truly dead. Other famous and infamous rulers include Richard III (it is generally accepted that he did not kill the princes in the tower), Elizabeth I (who had her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots, executed), Marie Antoinette (a victim of time and circumstances) and the Romanov family of Russia. The author also includes a few more modern murders, including Alexander of Yugoslavia, Boris of Bulgaria, King Faisal of Saudia Arabia, Prince Dipendra of Nepal (who murdered his whole family over their disapproval of his fiancée) and Lord Mountbatten, cousin to Queen Elizabeth II. The author successfully mixes history with great storytelling. She simplifies the complicated political and personal intrigue that surrounded all of the great rulers while giving the reader a good feel for the individuals themselves. This book is not for the faint of heart – the chapter on Vlad has some particularly gruesome bits. There are photos, paintings and drawings, and the book is nicely designed with interesting sidebars done up in gothic looking type. Royal Murder will give readers lots of history along with a good, gory read.

Reviewed by Mary Anne Cree in Canadian Children's Book News
Summer 2008 VOL.31. NO.3

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like true crime, I really do. I like historical true crime even better, and I'm a great fan of the lives and vices of royalty, so this book seemed like it was made for me. Final verdict is more of a resounding "meh," however.

Sadly, Royal Murder picks the plain ol' usual royal murderers, from Cleopatra to Richard III (who I still don't think killed his nephews), and royal murder victims, from Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette to the Romanovs. The only one older readers might not be familiar with is Elisabeth of Austria, and that's only if you're not a Royal Diaries fan.

Now, this book IS aimed at younger children, and for them it probably would be their first introduction to many of these people. In that sense, it's really good, appealing to the tiny true crime fans without being too graphic or gory. It's also written very well, fluently enough to not bore adults while understandable enough to not confuse children. There is also the final section of the book, which talks about a series of lesser-known, 20th century royal murders, which was new information for me and very interesting.

So overall, yeah, it's fine. Not for adults, especially if this is an area you've already been interested in, but a good book for younger readers and maybe even teens just getting into the history of royalty and true crime.

[carissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommended Ages: 5th - 9th
From monarchs murdered at the hands of their subjects to kings killed on the battlefield, the stories of these ten royals are told:

Cleopatra of Egypt (69 BCE-30 BCE)
VIad III the lmpaler of Wallachia (1431-1476)
Richard III of England (1452-1485)
"Bloody Mary" 1(1516-1558)
Mary, Queen of Scots (1542-1587)
Elizabeth I (1533-1603)
Louis XVI (1754-1793)
Marie Antoinette (1755-1793)
Elisabeth of Austria (1837- 1898)
The Romanovs of Russia (1872-1918).
A final section offers examples from the 20th century -- from assassination attempts in England to a royal massacre in Nepal.

[Phoebe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This junior high-school level book will be intriguing for adults too--I learned some interesting details about well-known and not-so-well-known rulers. Not too gory or graphic, but enough to give a few shivers. I liked the layout and the writing was good. An excellent book to give to reluctant readers, 6th grade and older.

[Shiela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great, clear and concise vignettes of prominent historical heads of monarchy that were murdered for their title. I particularly enjoyed the little sidebars and tidbits of interesting facts that were listed in the margins of the pages and the pictures of each of the monarchs and their families. A great way to introduce people to history and a wonderful read for children and adults alike.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short book was fascinating and well-researched. There was a great mix of known and new-to-me tales of murder. I found the depth of information to be great, even with the tales and people already known to me. I found the section on Modern Murders interesting since some of those have happened close to or during my lifetime. This was a fabulous and factual little read.

[Jennifer Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many heads,or headless in the case of Marie Antoinette, of state that I didn't know much about. Empress Elizabeth of Austria sounded like a real nut. Anorexic and obsessed with beauty she met a bad end same as the fat and ugly ones.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting premise, and compelling information, but not as readable as I thought it would be. Does provide a wide range of information, about different monarchs, primarily European.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nicely written. This book was far from boring with lots of information. :)

[Allegra S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting historical stories about rulers from all different countries! Different short stories on each page make it easy to pick up and put down. Really educational - for kids and parents!

[jing | aperipateticbibliophile · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really really...evil and intriguing. How can they do these things...???

[Hayden]

DISTURBING!!!!!!