You Know It Is A Bit Wrong

Yesterday, I spent all day reading a book about members of royal families who clearly had issues. It was essentially a listicle in book form- reputedly the cases are all true, but the focus was on the sensational, and each entry was very short. This deprives the royalty of context and makes each historical notion nothing more than a chance to point and laugh, instead of understanding our past or learn from our ancestors.

It's a fun read, of course. Nothing is funner than breezing through a reminder that it is better to live now than then. Yes, I'm glad not to be in Frederick the Great's shoes and having to suffer from his awful dad. But you know what would be more...just more? And would give a reader something memorable and deep while not taxing them? A comparison of royal parents that puts each one in the context of their time. I mean, why didn't Maria Terese spend any time in educating her kids? She was planning on using them to buy Austria peace and space, and yet she didn't train them to do her any good beyond having kids. Why? Maybe comparing her to Catherine the Great's mom or Frederick the Great's dad would make it clearer.

It's a thought. I might tackle it, sometime, but everyone else is free to try it.