Review: Princesses and Queens Who Lived Happily or Miserably Ever After
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 21, 2013
In this collection of essays concerning little-known royal history Victoria Martinez expands her coverage to Europe in general plus Hawaii and a nod to Japan.  She concentrates more on the women -- princesses who married veritable ogres, princesses who did not marry at all, strong-willed princesses who ruled their hereditary domains well and strong-willed princesses who unfortunately ruled their less-than-charming princes unwisely.This volume does have end-notes. In the electronic edition, at least, the numbers are nearly invisible and do not at all interrupt the narrative. The writing seems uneven. Some essays read as though she ran out of "unusual" and previously unknown material and had to substitute what reads like a standard textbook.  Others are up to the standard of the previous volume and leave you wanting to know more.  The latter outnumber the former and the book makes an interesting read.