I really enjoyed reading this book, as I love learning about history and its dark facts. This book covered the stories of many royal houses throughout history and various regions, and their propensity to interbreed within the family. One thing I enjoyed is the nuance around these people, allowing them to be full people instead of written solely on the basis of the inbreeding. Cummings uses historical sources to bring their essence back to life, often making them relatable in their struggles of love, health, and mental wellbeing. I enjoy that this didn't take the one dimensional approach of solely dogging on them for the abhorrent practice of inbreeding, but showed their personhood and complexities, which were often the result of inbreeding detects.

It was interesting reading this book, whilst looking at things with a 21st century lens. Of COURSE you don't marry your uncle/brother etc etc, who DOES that?? Yeah, they did, a lot :( I get that back in the day, people got married for reasons other than love, but there was absolutely an ick factor at work here.......

This was a well-researched book and I enjoyed reading about all the spectacular ways that the royal houses of Europe wrecked their family trees. It is a miracle that some of them even managed to continue on until the present day.

You have to feel sorry for the children who had to put up with some major defects along the way, if they even survived infancy.

4 stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pen & Sword.

I found this book very enlightening. I'm very interested in genetics (mostly of blood and blood groups) and I find historical medical mysteries and (un)diagnoses fascinating. I appreciated the conciseness of the authors information and the fact she presented it in a way that I think most people would be able to comprehend what's happening.

This book is an in-depth look at the effects of inbreeding in royal families from ancient times until the 19th century, which could often be horrific, as in the case of Carlos II ("the Bewitched"), the last Habsburg king of Spain, the most famous example. Although there was some good information, I found it to be extremely disorganized in its presentation, a little heavy on speculation, which is sometimes necessary when talking about ancient people for whom there is little documentation but should be used cautiously, and in some places of questionable accuracy. As an example, the claim that Isabella of Spain had her daughter Juana essentially tortured for her unorthodox religious beliefs appears dubious from my (admittedly cursory) check, and whatever those beliefs were, they were most certainly not "Protestant," as Protestantism didn't begin until after Isabella's death.

I also felt that, possibly to compensate for the scant information available in the earlier parts, the detail given on the later personalities, particularly Empress Elisabeth of Austria and her cousin Ludwig of Bavaria, was somewhat excessive.

This was an interesting look at the long history of royal relatives marrying one another. There was much speculation involved however, so it's difficult to know how true some of these reports are. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC.

Royal Inbreeding and Other Maladies by Juliana Cummings

Rating: 3 Stars

In "Royal Inbreeding and Other Maladies: A History of Royal Intermarriage and its Consequences" by Juliana Cummings, readers are taken on a captivating journey through the intricate history of royal marriages and the profound impact of inbreeding on monarchies. Cummings sheds light on the dark side of royalty, revealing the devastating consequences that stemmed from centuries of intermarriage among ruling families.

The book delves into the harrowing tales of prominent royal figures such as George III of England, Juana of Castile, and the Russian Royal Family, whose lives were marred by mental illness and genetic afflictions due to inbreeding practices. Cummings masterfully weaves together narratives of power, tragedy, and resilience, painting a poignant picture of the struggles faced by these monarchs as they grappled with the repercussions of their familial unions.

While some aspects of the book may come off as speculative, particularly in the portrayal of figures like Cleopatra and Mary Queen of Scots, Cummings excels in her detailed exploration of royals such as King Ludwig, Juana “the Mad” of Castile, and Empress Sisi. By offering a deeper insight into the lives of these historical figures, the author invites readers to empathize with the challenges they endured as a result of genetic predispositions and societal expectations.

"Royal Inbreeding and Other Maladies" stands out for its ability to captivate readers with its engaging narrative and meticulous research into the complexities of royal genetics. The book's cover art is striking and sets the tone for the compelling stories that lie within its pages. While some historical interpretations may be subject to scrutiny, the overall depth and breadth of information presented make it a valuable read for those intrigued by European royalty and its tumultuous history.

⚠️This review was written based on personal opinions and experiences with the book. Individual preferences may vary⚠️

I wanted to like this book a lot more than I did. Most of the families mentioned are some of my favourites to learn about and research, but this was a struggle to even finish.

It relied too much on sensationalism and had far too many cases of conjecture, leaping to conclusions, and factual errors. Can't recommend this one at all sadly.

This book has a good premise that automatically caught my eye and it was overall insightfull. I think the author worked with the evidence that we do have (there is a lot of evidence lacking when we're talking about people who died centuries ago).

In this fascinating and mildly horrifying history book, Juliana Cummings introduces readers to the history of royal inbreeding in Europe and Egypt since ancient times through the twentieth century. This book, with its detail, primary documents, and mildly disturbing historical biographies and medical jargon, is truly impossible to put down or look away from. Full of detail, the case studies which Cummings explores in this novel are horrifying yet fascinating, and she treats this subject with academic respect, which is incredibly admirable. The depth of research in this book is apparent in every page, and the length is easily manageable for readers of all backgrounds. From the Habsburgs to the Ptolemys, this book covers a massive swath of history, and no one dynasty outweighs another; Cummings balances so many historical narratives and eras perfectly in this book. With its medical historical analysis and the inclusion of various medical theories behind these incestuous marriages, this book balances a traditional history of royalty with a history of medicine, a particularly enjoyable combination. This un-put-down-able historical nonfiction book is a must-read for fans of the history of European royalty and the history of medicine, and Cummings’s latest book is an absolutely fascinating read.

Over time, because of the relatively limited number of potential consorts, the gene pool of many ruling families grew progressively smaller, until all European royalty was related. This also resulted in many being descended from a certain person through many lines of descent, such as the numerous European royalty descended from Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom or King Christian IX of Denmark.As a result, royal intermarriages became consanguine marriages, which lead to both new health issues arising and existing ones being compounded.
The House of Habsburg frequently practiced consanguine marriages as a way of consolidating the dynasty's political power, with both first cousin and uncle–niece pairings common. The most visible consequence of this was an extended lower chin (mandibular prognathism), which was typical for many Habsburg relatives over a period of six centuries; the jaw deformity is so closely associated with the family that it is commonly known as the "Habsburg jaw or Lip".The Spanish branch took this practice to an extreme: of the eleven marriages contracted by Spanish monarchs between 1450 and 1661, 9 contained some element of consanguinity.The last of the Spanish line, Charles II—who was severely disabled from birth and possibly impotent—possessed a genome comparable to that of a child born to a brother and sister.The House of Wittelsbach suffered from several cases of mental and physical illnesses,often attributed to their frequent intermarriages.Ancient Egypt had sibling marriages such as the Thutmoside and Ptolemaic dynasties.Inbreeding results in homozygosity, which can increase the chances of offspring being affected by recessive traits.Autosomal recessive disorders occur in individuals who have two copies of an allele for a particular recessive genetic mutation.Except rare circumstances, such as new mutations or uniparental disomy, both parents of an individual with such a disorder will be carriers of the gene.These carriers do not display any signs of the mutation and may be unaware that they carry the mutated gene.Inbred royals suffered from mental and physical impairments, excess mortality, and reproductive problems.

This book examines the dark genetic consequences of royal inbreeding, from the Ptolemies to the European dynasties. Discover the impact on physical health, mental illness, and deformities. Witness the toll on monarchs in their desperate attempts to preserve power through intermarriage.

Interesting and informative, this book fails to take a scientific approach, instead relying on rumor and supposition. If you’re looking for entertainment, this is a good choice, but it’s not a scholarly work.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Princess Fuzzypants here: I knew there was a lot of inbreeding in the various royal families throughout history but I admit to being amazed at how much there was even when it became obvious there were some genes that were doing more harm than good. Of course, since progeny were either potential rulers or pawns in power games, volume was more important than health.

Insanity seems to have been the most pernicious trait that seemed to gallop through families. But there were other things like physical defects that would make the lives of those unfortunate enough to be the recipients a misery. One might think the wealth and privilege would be a salve for the pain but there were many whose most fervent wish was to be released from it. It is not too hard to feel some sympathy for those whose futures were determined by the desire to keep the bloodline pure. And in the attempt to ward off any outside influence we are talking about the closest of relationships with each other. Game of Thrones has nothing on some of these families.

Well researched and presented, the book offers insights into the costs of inbreeding. Four purrs and two paws up.

Royalty was supposed to rule by divine right and meant to preserve their bloodline, but in their zeal to do so lay the seeds of the madness and maladies that plagued many royal houses.

It’s always fun to read about mad royals. Removed by time and societal changes, they don’t feel real enough to be sorry for, and so you can fully indulge in ogling at the bizarre stories without shame. And with unlimited money and power at their disposal, there’s a lot of bizarre stories. Cummings tries to dial down the sensationalism in her book though, discussing why royals persisted in intermarrying and having children despite the (to us at least) obvious consequences of their actions.

Starting in antiquity but focusing more on families in the late medieval period onward, she discusses the stories of a number of royals who suffered from the effects of inbreeding, whether physical or mental, going in depth on families such as the Hapsburgs, the Hanovers, and the Wittelsbachs. I appreciated how she addressed the suffering royals with compassion and empathy, placing their strange-seeming actions in the context of the times.

However, I did feel that she was prone to speculation in places, for example when discussing the mental health of such royals as Cleopatra, Mary I of England, and Mary Queen of Scots – without real evidence produced to support her arguments, they felt flimsy. I enjoyed the book most where she focused on one or two figures for the length of a chapter; I wondered if I would have enjoyed the book more had the author narrowed its scope, especially if she’d jettisoned much of the less factually-supported first half.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Dnf'ed at page 44

Facts are described as myth and myths are described as fact.

The chapter about ancient history was enough for me to be convinced this wouldn't provide a neutral view, but one coloured by the authors own ideas.

Sort of interesting if you like weird historical stuff like this. I could have done without the mentions of inbreeding in Appalachia since I am from there and there are already too many stereotypes about us as is. I know the author was just stating facts but I came to read about royals, not people around here.

I was highly very intrigued by the concept here. Knowing what I do of history and monarchies, there seemed to be a wealth of possibilities for the book, all of which hit my curiosity high points. Unfortunately, I found the actual book a little less edifying than I'd hoped. Much of it feels like a history-of-monarchy lesson, with call-outs to the mental and physical illnesses well documented throughout monarchical history, but without much evidence tying the two together. Much of the "evidence" seems correlative rather than causal, which was a bit disappointing, and there seemed to be a lot of repetition in the chapters. It was interesting enough on the whole, but not quite what I expected.

This is an interesting collection and summary of known consequences of inbreeding within royal families. If you're a reader invested in learning about European royalty and beyond, you'll likely already be familiar with the people written about in this book.

I feel like readers who want a basic understanding of these people could read this one, but I'd look into other books for more in depth information. I also feel like this book did a decent job at not dehumanizing the individuals mentioned.

Interesting, very interesting. I had not realized how very inbred the European royal families were! Interesting to read about the results of the inbreeding.

*Thank you so much to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the chance to review an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

This was such a good read, and it had a lot of interesting information. The information was laid out in an easy to understand format, and was easy to understand. I enjoyed how each chapter was set up and truly learned so much from this book. I recommend this book to anyone who has a fascination with history or even genetics.

I found this book to be very uneven. I enjoyed the science section, which was woefully short. I found the practical application of the science to the historical record to be lacking. The whole historical section was badly structured, references to ancestors were inaccurate in some cases and unclear in others. Not enjoyable.