What readers think of The Blood Countess, plus links to write your own review.

l've always been fascinated by the legend of Elizabeth Báthory, an Hungarian countess in the early 17th C, accused of murder, torture and bloodletting of young girls, so this book instantly caught my attention.

Needless to say, this is a pretty tame book in that the author's intent is to set the record straight on the legend and the woman and what we find is no evidence of all the mayhem. Bathory (1560-1614) has been aligned with vampire legends and with the torture and killing of 650 people. Some stories say she killed to obtain the blood of virgins to bathe in their blood to stay young. Other legends abound too.

However, the book based on extensive research of original records produces a rather "usual" account of political intrigue and greed. Bathory was from an ancient and well-endowed Hungarian family; she married well and her husband was a noble warrior until his death, leaving Elizabeth to raise her three children and preserve their inheritances. A woman of strong character and resilience emerges in the story who was popular with her constituents. She ran a school for girls where some died of natural causes - this was a time predating our return to medieval medicine where life was brief and medicine wasn't very helpful.

What was also happening at this time was religious persecution between Lutherans and Calvinists and Elizabeth drew the ire of a Lutheran minister who helped contribute toward the misinformation that developed. And as the author points out many of the terminology in the records is archaic, having terms relevant to the time but easily misinterpreted then as Now.

Báthory gets a chance at redemption in this book but with all the tourist money that comes the legend, she may be doomed to the legend.
Enjoyed the book very much.