Widow Capet and Widow Nadasdy

Here are a few more interesting comparisons. Both women were stripped of their titles after their husbands' deaths as the blog title above shows. There was an Esterhazy at both courts. Within 183 years of inbred royalty and aristocracy, I'm going to guess they were of the same family. I plan to research this further. The Madame Royale Princess Marie Therese, daughter of Marie Antoinette, like Erzebet, was locked up for a time, albeit a year, in a tower with no visitors. She was passed food through a wicker grate. Both MA and Erzebet were accused of high treason. Marie Antoinette was beheaded, and Erzebet was threatened with it at one point. Both had ties with foreign armies they expected to save them, as indicated yesterday. Sad coincidence, or de rigueur treatment for women of fallen regimes.

Marie Antoinette and Erzebet Bathory

I am listening to the audio book of Marie Antoinette; The Last Queen of France, by Evelyne Lever. She brings up some interesting parallels between the lives of these two women, both once powerful but brought to downfall and disgrace: First, Marie Antoinete was accused of adultery, lesbianism, and being a "blood thirsty monster." Erzebet, it is implied, had a child out of wedlock, and is portrayed in an adulterous relationship with the artist Carvaggio in the film Bathory. Erzebet is accused of being a vampire and werewolf, and of lesbian relationships. It seems these are stock charges levelled against unpopular women, especially aristocrats, whom a mob wants to destroy. Also, both women counted on male relatives in other countries or sovreignties to raise armies to save them, and both were disappointed. In the case of Erzebet, I would also like to note that Thorne describes the fate of other women in Erzebet's time, similar to hers, including her own niece Anna Bathory. Widows, especially rich ones, were clearly easy targets. It was a scandal for a woman past child bearing age to rule alone and to own properites and wealth in her own right. There were only certain subject positions from which an aristocratic woman could speak, and these included impending death, madness, pending execution [violetn or unnatural death]. For those who want to read more, consult the books mentioned previously, and the works of scholars Ann Rosalind Jones and Mary Ellen Lamb. Also, one might read about Maximillian and Carlotta in Mexico, and the Czarina Alexandra in Russia, for similar, more modern stories.

The Bathory Chronicles; Volume 1 Liz-Defiled is my Name Full Sore

Volume 1 of The Bathory Chronciles is now on Kindle. Volume II is in the works.This book covers the life of Liz Bathor, a modern 14 year old girl, with a mysterious past. You learn about her history and her family, Elizabeth Báthory (The Blood Countess), Vlad Tepes III (Dracula), kings and aristocracy, murder, secret collusion and theft, and her difficult times. A reading list and book-club questions are included in the appendix.