A really impeccably researched work, involving translations of many Hungarian documents from the early 1600s, and a delve into the complex politics of Hungary.
This is NOT a blood and guts vampire story. Certainly Bathory's alleged crimes make for grim reading- but Thorne goes on to consider other reasons for her arraignment.
Firstly, she was an incredibly wealthy widow- her estates could be confiscated if she were guilty- to the enrichment of her rivals.
Secondly there were political issues- Bathory's nephew, whom she supported, was ruling an independent Trasylvania, to the disgruntlement of the Hapsburg overlords.
And as outrageous calumnies usefully despatched Anne Boleyn (and indeed other Hungarian noblewomen- a near relative by marriage was accused of something similar.) ...and the many witchcraft trials of that time of any "strong, independent" women...Thorne argues it was a way to "neutralize" them.
Certainly the court hearings (at which the accused never appeared) seem to have glaring discrepancies...and some confessions appear to be the fervid declamations of persons being put to torture...
Nonetheless, can we dismiss all the allegations? Aristocrats were - frequently- cruel to their servants, and deaths only "counted" if the victim was of noble blood. "Home doctoring" might account for some of the events witnessed.
The reader is left with no concrete answer.... ( )

I've put off reviewing this for awhile, simply because with books this awesome and dear to me I tend to get way too rambley.

This book is... amazing. Every other book I've read about the Countess, I've had to keep reminding myself that there is no way to know for sure that anything said about her actually happened. Which makes it hard to really dig your teeth into the book, while trying to remain logical about it at the same time.

Which is what I love so much about this book. Tony Thorne fully admits that none of the accusations against Countess Bathory can be proved; We will likely never know for sure what happened in her lifetime, what crimes she did or didn't commit. And this author not only admits that, but puts forth alternate suggestions, raises questions and points that bring to front all the different possibilities of what may have happened.

Toward the end of the book there are chapters dedicated to other notorious females who may well have inspired, or been inspired by, the Countess's crimes. Some of the similarities between these women, in particular Anna-Rosina Listhius... It's actually *scary* how similar her story is to Elizabeth's.

I could go on forever, but to sum it up, something I said to a friend:
It's much more factual, pays attention to details and contradictions and alternative theories, cites it's sources... It is by far the best research-type book I've seen about Elizabeth Bathory. ( )