The Countess: A Novel

The Countess:  A Novel tells the tale of Erzsébet Báthory, the Blood Countess, of Hungary.  I had never heard of the countess, so I was eager to read this book.  I seem to have a fascination for evil people and what makes them tick.  And, with a moniker like the "Blood Countess" I was anticipating some True Blood type antics throughout the novel.  While I am not a sadist or masochist, I enjoy reading about the cruelties humans perpetrate upon each other. 

I truly enjoyed the historical aspect of this novel, especially considering 1600s Hungary is not a time period I've studied in any depth.  Johns provided not only considrable biographical information of Báthory's family line and that of her bethrothed, but also of the political climate of the region.  

The vast majority of the book was spent with Erzsébet's youth and the early years of her marriage.  While this did explain her fastidiousness in running a household, all of the background felt like too much exposition.  Basically, I was looking forward to reading about her monstrosities, but there was very little of that in the novel.  There was truly no revelation as to why she was the Blood Countess.  One could extrapolate from the few gory scenes presented just how ruthless Báthory could be, but I was wanting more. 

The Countess, rather than becoming feared and loathed by the reader becomes a very sympathetic character.  I could feel the pain of isolation early in her marriage.  I could empathize with her infertility and her loss. I could feel her frustration of being solely responsible for the household and help while her husband was off galavanting and fighting wars.  But, again, I didn't want to like her.  I wanted to be horrified by her misdeeds and actions.  Instead, I found myself wanting to befriend her.

Overall, The Countess provided great background knowledge of an historical figure I knew very little about, but I will be looking for other accounts of her life that show her more hideous side.