0.5/5

Inbreeding is the reproduction between closely related individuals which increases the chances of the offprings being affected by recessive traits that can affect their physical and mental health. Until the work of Gregor Mendel, and other scientists who embraced his ideas, this wasn't understood and thus there's a lot of historical evidence of people affected by this practice. While maybe not as common within the regular people, those of royal birth and high status practiced inbreeding to keep power between the same small group of individuals, often with disastrous consequences. This book attempts to untangle the web of incest that plaged the royal families for centuries and give us a taste of the repercussions of said practice in historical events.

For a book that seems interested in shedding light on the tangible consequences of intermarriage there is too much speculation and supposition. While anecdotal evidence can be a helpful start point for developing the big picture it cannot be given the same weight as actual confirmed sources, especially when we're talking about biology. I understand that we cannot, say, perform an autopsy on any of the historical figures mentioned in this book but the author could have dug depper into the science of inbreeding itself instead of just making wild guesses. There were too many instances of simply assuming that someone was mentally ill because of inbreeding with zero explanation of the relation between those two points or any exploration of other reasons. Sure, genetics play a part in things like depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, etc, but how? why?

I find myself distrustful of anything I read in this book due to some glaring mistakes and assumptions. I see a lot of hearsay being taken as fact, like saying Caligula had incestuos relationships with his sisters which is something that we have no proof of and that was first mentioned in a biography 80 years after his death. Or assuring readers that Philip Christoph von Königsmarck was buried under the floor of Sophia Dorothea of Celle's rooms when yes, bones were found there but investigations have come to the conclusion that they're probably not his and are a mix of multiple humans and animals. All along the book you will find instances of gossip being presented as truth or places where the author has omitted extra information that doesn't fit the tone of the book or the point she's trying to make. There are probably more examples of this, I've caught a couple more but that's only because I am familiar with some of the history it's referring to or because it sounded so ludicrous that I had to at least google it. Who knows what else I've missed.

There are also editing mistakes and while I understand that this is an ARC it inspires even less confidence in the contents of this book. Paragraphs repeating, names changed (saying Ferdinand was Charles V's father for example when he was actually his grandfather), missing words, and incorrect attribution of sources. Where were the editors? The fact checkers? Besides all that I've previously mentioned the book isn't particulary interesting. There is no new approach or innovation regarding the subject matter. The book concludes with one (1) paragraph and that's it. I fear that this was only a vehicle for salacious gossip and speculation. Save you time and skip it.

An interesting subject, but the book fell short in execution. Poorly structured and with way too much speculation, all presented as fact.

An interesting look at European history circa 1500 - 1920, with a brief look at the ancient Egyptians and some modern rural Appalachian and Australian farming families at the beginning, all focused on the problems - both physical and political - when people reproduce with their close relatives.

I was amused at Cummings surprise that out of all the inbreeding examples, the Ptolemy's showed the least amount of physical and mental problems, despite all the brother / sister and uncle / niece marriages. Personally, I am absolutely convinced that more than one Polemic queen accidently helped save the family from inbreeding by cheating on their brother-husbands. After all - who do you want to sleep with - the hot royal guard or your sulky little brother? And an Egyptian princess is going to have a much easier time having a quicky and getting in and out of a simple linen sheath dress while any Hapsburg princess needs about half a day and four handmaids to get in and out of those Rennaissance get ups.

Anyway, its a very important lens to look at history, considering what an impact biology had on politics, given that the inbreeding was being practice by those with the most power. It can be difficult to diagnose from such a distance, but Cummings does a good job showing how many actions and traits were most likely caused by the overlay of recessive genes.

I would have liked if the book had been more chronological instead of doubling back to cover first Queen Vicotria and then Tzar Nicholas before doubling back to cover the Hapsburgs, but all of the royal families were fascinating in just how wrong things could go. It does stick very much to Europe - I would have loved to have learned more about the inbreeding in Japan's royal family and what kind of restrictive marriages other countries had, but what is here is fascinating.

This detailed, thoroughly researched book covers many decades and countries to give an intriguing insight into the health of royal families across the world. There are some well known cases included but also many more obscure cases which are equally fascinating. The author does a very good job of exploring cases within their historical context, noting how the beliefs and biases against homosexuality and mental illness influenced the treatment of people; For those reading on kindle, it’s well worth continuing past the end notes to review the photographs and diagrams included.