Doomed Queens in the New Yorker — and beyond

DOOMED QUEENS received a rave review yesterday in the New Yorker online:

“It isn’t often that one encounters a book that invites the reëmergence of childhood fantasies, then eviscerates them in a few words. Even less common is the book that manages to make the process utterly satisfying. Such is the rush I got from Kris Waldherr’s deliciously perverse “Doomed Queens: Royal Women Who Met Bad Ends from Cleopatra to Princess Di.” By the time I had progressed from Artemisia I (drowned) and Thessalonike (possibly transformed into a mermaid) to Oghul Ghaimish (allowed to commit suicide) and Alexandra Romanov (firing squad), I had been cured of any lingering dreams of becoming a princess.

Waldherr is an artist who creates tarot cards, among other objects, and her book is lavishly illustrated and accompanied by a set of paper dolls (a final sadistic flourish, perhaps?). But “Doomed Queens” is also a concise, humorous, and keenly observed history of women and power. “What was it about being royal that made so many women so vulnerable to losing their lives?” Waldherr writes in the introduction, continuing:

It has always been obvious that the female of the species holds the keys to the kingdom—the kingdom of life, that is. Without the fruit of the womb, humanity would crash and burn. Boo-hoo, what’s a power-loving man to do? To solve this problem, mating and relating is safely confined within the institution of matrimony and becomes sanctified with religious rites. The power of female fertility is harnessed, thus creating dynastic succession. Royal women who get uppity with the system get offed.

Waldherr’s book is framed as a series of cautionary tales. What does Marie Antoinette teach us? “When you play at being a peasant, you risk being killed by one.” Urraca of Castile? “Biology can be a bitch.” The playful didacticism makes the book seem geared toward younger readers, but older ones stand to benefit as well. On her Web site, Waldherr writes that she was drawn to queens because “it’s time for women to look into the shadow side of female empowerment, so we can better claim it.” With all the inane princess stories out there, a collection that highlights the historical downside is a welcome corrective.”

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I’m sure you can imagine how pleased I am by this! Also, DOOMED QUEENS has been featured in several gift guides, including Modern Tonic, the San Antonio Express News, and the Baltimore Sun.

There’s also a DOOMED QUEENS blog tour going on, with reviews, interviews and book giveaways. So far, Doomed Queens has been featured on:

Scandalous Women
The Duchess of Devonshire’s Gossip Guide to the 18th Century
The Raucous Royals
Marie Antoinette’s Gossip Guide to the 18th Century
The Gaian Tarot Journal
Tudor History Blog

More blogs will be participating in the coming weeks. Oh, and if you have a blog for which you’d like to feature Doomed Queens, interview me regarding Doomed Queens, or host a book giveaway, please download a press kit here.

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more photos of Doomed Queens

I feel like I’ve been very Doomed Queens-y of late. I guess it’s hard to avoid, with its publication so close at hand. Anyway, I just got these photos, which give a good sense of the final published book. I can’t resist posting them….

Exterior of book. You can see a hint of the French flaps and full color endpapers….

Interior, French flaps and full color endpapers. Also a view of the Doomed Queens through history timeline. (It’s very Art Through the Ages!)

Interior spread, Boudicca. Lisa Hunt, my soon-to-be Black Belt friend, posed for the warrior queen.

Interior spread, showing a genealogy chart. The book is printed in sepia ink.

Interior spread, Athaliah. This was posed for by Annmaria Mazzini.

The art can be viewed in greater detail by clicking on the thumbnails. Learn more about Doomed Queens here.

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Take a look inside Doomed Queens!

Random House has just posted this very cool widget for DOOMED QUEENS. It offers a juicy preview of it — take a look!

Yesterday was the official Doomed Queens launch and publication date! I have a post incubating about it, but in the meantime, check out Diane’s post. Diane modeled for my Catherine of Aragon drawing, and was one of the “queens” in attendance at the launch party.

• Filed under Uncategorized, lover's path, mythic living, sister sites, studio and gallery, travels | One Response

Tarot for Obama

The fundraiser is taking place tomorrow! We’re almost completely booked up with rsvp’s, so it should be a successful event.

Many thanks to Elizabeth Genco, Diane Saarinen, Karen Williams, Christina Ambrosino, Amy Saidens, Marla Lombard, Jeanette Gonzalez, Tom Miller, Karen Zuegner, and others who have helped, donated time and art, and so much more. I’m excited to help transform Washington (albeit in a very small and humble way).

ETA: We raised over $1000 and ended up featured on the front page of CNN.com!

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what is this?

Yes, it’s a hellaciously blurry photograph.* But of what?

A hint: It’s something to do with Doomed Queens. (Hey, is that Henry VIII in the photo?)

Here’s another hint.

Give up?

Okay, here goes: The photo is of something which accompanies the paper dolls that come bundled with Doomed Queens—paper doll backgrounds! These backgrounds can now be found on the Doomed Queens site. They include the court of Henry VIII (as shown above), the Tower of London, Versailles, and a scaffold, for those of you who favor the grand guignol school of royal make-believe.

These backgrounds can be downloaded here in pdf format. Easy instructions are included for printing them out and putting them together. They’re a lot of fun for a rainy day. And remember, any royal heads cut off during play can be easily restored with clear tape. Vive la Révolution!

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*I think it’s safe to say that my cell phone photography won’t be winning any awards anytime soon. Next time, I’ll use my Canon Rebel instead!

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