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Was the “Blood Countess” history’s first and perhaps worst female serial killer? Or did her accusers create a violent fiction in order to remove this beautiful, intelligent, ambitious foe from the male-dominated world of Hungarian politics?
In 1611, Countess Erzsébet Báthory, a powerful Hungarian noblewoman, stood helpless as masons walled her inside her castle tower, dooming her to spend her final years in solitary confinement. Her crime—the gruesome murders of dozens of female servants, mostly young girls tortured to death for displeasing their ruthless mistress. Her opponents painted her as a bloodthirsty škrata—a witch—a portrayal that would expand to grotesque proportions through the centuries.
In this riveting dramatization of Erzsébet Báthory’s life, the countess tells her story in her own words, writing to her only son—a final reckoning from his mother in an attempt to reveal the truth behind her downfall. Countess Báthory describes her upbringing in one of the most powerful noble houses in Hungary, recounting in loving detail her devotion to her parents and siblings as well as the heartbreak of losing her father at a young age. She soon discovers the price of being a woman in sixteenth-century Hungary as her mother arranges her marriage to Ferenc Nádasdy, a union made with the cold calculation of a financial transaction. Young Erzsébet knows she has no choice but to accept this marriage even as she laments its loveless nature and ultimately turns to the illicit affections of another man.
Seemingly resigned to a marriage of convenience and a life of surreptitious pleasure, the countess surprises even herself as she ignites a marital spark with Ferenc through the most unromantic of acts: the violent punishment of an insolent female servant. The event shows Ferenc that his wife is no trophy but a strong, determined woman more than capable of managing their vast estates during Ferenc’s extensive military campaigns against the Turks. Her naked assertion of power accomplishes what her famed beauty could not: capturing the love of her husband.
The countess embraces this new role of loving wife and mother, doing everything she can to expand her husband’s power and secure her family’s future. But a darker side surfaces as Countess Báthory’s demand for virtue, obedience, and, above all, respect from her servants takes a sinister turn. What emerges is not only a disturbing, unflinching portrait of the deeds that gave Báthory the moniker “Blood Countess,” but an intimate look at the woman who became a monster.
- Sales Rank: #1195628 in Books
- Brand: Crown
- Published on: 2010-10-12
- Released on: 2010-10-12
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.54" h x 1.21" w x 6.35" l, 1.16 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 304 pages
- Great product!
From Publishers Weekly
Johns's creepily enticing second novel (after Icebergs) travels to 1611 Hungary as Countess Erzsébet Báthory--aka the Blood Countess--is being walled into a castle tower as punishment for the murder of dozens of women and girls. She begins writing her life story as an exposé of the many betrayals that have brought about this--as she sees it--outrageous and unjust imprisonment. The steady, calm tone of Erzsébet's narration lulls the reader along so that the first hints of madness in her girlhood engender doubt and discomfort rather than horror, and as her lack of remorse and grandiose sense of entitlement are unveiled, a matter-of-fact self-portrait of a murderer emerges. This is a carefully researched story, gothic in tone and grimly atmospheric, with subtly handled psychology and an initially unassuming tone. Unlike most serial killer stories, this rewards patience and close reading.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
The Countess walks a fine line between being a repulsive story of murder and gore and a tale of a woman defending her home and honor. Johns expertly manages that balancing act.--AP --news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101026/ap_en_re/us_book_review_the_countess
A more realistic and historically accurate treatment [of Bathory]....Offers excellent potential for book club discussion.--Library Journal --libraryjournal.com/lj/home/886958-264/xpress_reviewsthe_first_look_at.html.csp
About the Author
REBECCA JOHNS is an assistant professor of English at DePaul University and a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Her first novel, Icebergs, was a finalist for the 2007 PEN/Hemingway Award.
Most helpful customer reviews
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful.
No gore, but great none the less
By Jessie Potts
I'm of two minds of this book. This first is that it was excellently written. I loved how accurate she tried to keep the locations, spellings, exc. The story was a great historical novel written from the Countess' own voice which was creepy, yet made a part of me believe what she was selling (about not murdering anyone). The second mind was... I thought there would be more blood? I really was expecting a type of historical horror novel where we witness all the women the Countess has killed and how it was done. Call it morbid fascination but I was looking forward to that.
The Countess of Bathory was accused of killing 612 of her own maidservants. Wow talk about a serious serial killer. It never evens occurs to her that it is considered murder when she beats her maid servants to death. She merely brushes it off as `I had not meant to'. It shows just how insane she had become. The details though are spared as the reader is left wondering sometimes just how twisted these punishments were. Erzsebet was considered the first female serial killer and a `vampire' much like Vlad the Impaled she was said to have bathed in her victims blood. While we aren't 100% certain what happened, Rebecca Johns decides to paint her opposite. Erzsebet is described as a woman trying to make it in a man's world (also Medieval let's not forget times were different then) who just did what was expected of her for her station. Johns shows Erzsebet as a character who was married young to an indifferent husband, widowed and left to survive. I actually at times was empathetic towards her where if I had seen the gore it would have gone the other way.
All in all it was an interesting read. At times it is slow going, but I've found that's how it is with most historical fictions so it shouldn't bother genre fans. While I personally wanted the blood (I'm weird) I was pleased at how Johns made me want to like her, and that was no easy feat.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful.
Down For The Count
By Bruce Loveitt
This is a beautifully written book. Rebecca Johns has oodles of talent and the countess of the title is a fully-rounded and fascinating character. You are immediately transported into the late 16th and early 17th centuries.....the language, the sights and sounds and smells, the people....everything rings true. The author doesn't strike a false note and the world she evokes is wonderfully real. Ms. Johns also succeeds in humanizing a woman who has been demonized. Not only can you understand her actions, from her point of view, but at times you can sympathize with her for having to make her way as a woman in a world mostly run by men. But Ms. Johns also lets us see Countess Bathory's faults.....her sadistic streak, her temper and her self-delusion. This character is so real that she truly does emerge, living and breathing, from the pages of the book.
My only complaint is the rather bizarre choice to put in a prologue that tells you right away what is going to happen, so that there is no suspense. If the author were a lesser writer, this decision might make you lose interest or at least reduce your enjoyment of the novel. Be that as it may, even though I knew what was going to happen to the countess I was still caught in the web that Ms. Johns has woven. A remarkable book.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful.
Beautifully written.
By Tonya Speelman
This book was excellently written. Rebecca Johns did a wonderful job with Countess Erzsebet Bathory. I found myself feeling sorry for her and her plight of being accused of crueltly to her help, even though she was indeed very cruel.
It is amazing how marriages were arranged and girls VERY young were sent off to be a part of someone else's family, even if you weren't really a match. The Countess did what she had to go she thought to keep her household running.
The descriptions in the book of the countryside, people and events are exquisite. I felt like I was riding with her in that carriage to her new home and so many other times. Lots of romance, betrayal, family betrayals and loyalties will be tried in this book. You will be cheering for one side or the other by the end.. What side will it be?
This book is wonderful because it makes you want to read other books about The Countess and many others, at least I do now!
Rebecca Johns I knew was a writer to watch for when I read Icebergs, but she really did well with this one! Bravo Ms Johns!!
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