THE BLOOD COUNTESS is an ambitious, sweeping investigation into the singularly fascinating case of Elizabeth Báthory, a woman who, until now, has been known as "the Western World’s most prolific female murderer.” If The Dark Queens is about the systemic erasure of powerful women, then THE BLOOD COUNTESS is about the culturally sanctioned, coordinated smearing of one, how it happens and why, which leads to even bigger how do we construct our personal and cultural realities? How do we parse the truth? THE BLOOD COUNTESS will, of course, appeal to the same readers who fell in love with The Dark Queens, but it will undoubtedly bring in fresh true crime aficionados, lovers of legal sagas, fans of the Elizabethan era, readers already aware of the Báthory legend, etc. It is the sort of undeniably juicy, complex narrative that will have both academic circles and book clubs arguing for days, as it does what the best historical non-fiction holds up a mirror so we can see our own time more clearly, all while still being a wild, entertaining ride.
Puhak is great. A book that uses the Bathory legend to jump into the history of Hungary. It's a complicated subject matter, without any familiar names or faces to help guide us along, but Puhak does a fantastic job of untangling the murky history and providing context.
I came for the most prolific female serial killer of all time, but I stayed for the lessons in Hungarian politics. The main takeaway being that if you were a woman with land, someone was probably going to take it from you one way or another.
If you hop over to Wikipedia and search on female serial killers, the queen (to be factually correct, she was a countess) of them all is Elizabeth Báthory. She holds the (turns out rather dubious) "honor" of being the murderer of somewhere around 600 young girls. She reportedly enjoyed torturing them and bathing in their blood to stay young. I am being a bit flippant with the subject here because, well, none of it was real. Author Shelley Puhak tells us right off the bat in her fantastic The Blood Countess.
I thoroughly enjoyed Puhak's previous non-fiction work, The Dark Queens, (as well as her award winning poetry but that's beside the point) and The Blood Countess proves this was no fluke. This is the type of book where you can feel the sheer amount of work that went into gathering the information, getting it right, and then presenting it in a way that a reader won't get lost like they are in the forests of Transylvania. There are many vital characters, constant backstabbing, and of course religious strife that seems to never end. Through it all, Puhak shows us just how the legend of Báthory spun out of control and what the real truth probably is. I highly recommend it.
(This book was provided as an advance reader copy by NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing.)
In The Blood Countess, historian Shelley Puhak seeks to discredit a rumor that was long accepted as truth: that the Hungarian Countess Elizabeth Bathory was responsible for numerous murders of young women so she could bathe in their blood and stay eternally young. She went down in the history books as the most prolific female serial killer of all time. An attention grabbing claim, for sure. Yet new research suggests that not a lick of it was true.
It was much more likely that the Countess was targeted because of her considerable land and property holdings and a witch hunt sought to tarnish her reputation and steal what she owned.
Puhak needs to provide ample historical context, including the stories of the noble families wielding power at the time, to make this story understandable, and so you'll find that the central story the blurb hangs its proverbial hat on is not the primary focus of the book.
According to legend and also according to the Guinness Book of World Records, Hungarian Countess Elizabeth Bathory (1560-1614) was a mass murderer and supposedly responsible for at least 610 deaths, that Bathory was reputedly so vain and so desperate to cling to her physical beauty that she had scores of young maidens brutally tortured and murdered in order to bathe in their virgin blood (and with Elizabeth Bathory also often being considered the female counterpoint to Dracula even though she was actually never considered to be a vampire).
But as Shelley Puhak and in my opinion quite convincingly (in other words with solid proofs and meticulously researched) argues in her February 2026 biography The Blood Countess: Murder, Betrayal, and the Making of a Monster, there is actually more than ample reason to believe that the legend of Elisabeth Bathory's depravity was actually made up, was totally concocted by her enemies in order to very deliberately and nastily destroy her reputation and to thereby permanently remove her from public life, that the account of the monstrous noblewoman, the elaborate torture methods, the incessant killing of innocents in a vain and narcissistic attempt to preserve her looks, yes indeed, Puhak points out and for me totally proves in and throughout The Blood Countess: Murder, Betrayal, and the Making of a Monster, that most, if not actually all of the horror stories and the rumours about and surrounding Bathory need to be understood and taken as the product of an aggressive and nastily sexist deliberate misinformation and disinformation campaign, with The Blood Countess: Murder, Betrayal, and the Making of a Monster showcasing a hybrid of true crime and feminist history, where drawing from archival research Shelley Puhak showcases how over the centuries, exaggerations, massively shoddy scholarship and outright and specifically on purpose fabrications have created the exciting, creepy but ultimately totally erroneous, ridiculous and majorly lacking in respect vision and the concept of Elizabeth Bathory the monster, the mass murderer, the epitome of evil incarnate (and of course with Bathory having died almost five-hudred years ago, she can obviously also not defend or rehabilitate herself either).
While The Blood Countess: Murder, Betrayal, and the Making of a Monster is technically speaking considered a biography, Puhak does not in fact write about Elizabeth Bathory's childhood but starts her text in 1603, a year where her eldest son died, her vast Hungarian estates were invaded by the Turks (and that in early January 1604, Bathory's husband Count Francis Nadasdy also died of the bubonic plague). But instead of capitulating (or remarrying) Shelley Puhak with The Blood Countess: Murder, Betrayal, and the Making of a Monster shows Elizabeth Bathory protecting as well as asserting individual strength and determination (in other words female power) but that due to brutal misogyny and with all the political and religious strife rampant in 16th and 17th century Europe but seemingly rather pointedly augmented in Hungary (such as an Ottoman invasion, rival claims to the Hungarian throne, a civil war that was made all the more problematic due to the Protestant Reformation) Bathory made many dangerous enemies (and often simply because she was a woman but also because he was a Calvinist woman who owned a lot of land and was thus automatically someone to discredit and worse by Hungarian male Catholics and also by Hungarian male Lutherans).
And yes, and finally, despite its rather Gothic and horror story title (and which I do find just a trifle unfortunate, not a huge deal, but still), The Blood Countess: Murder, Betrayal, and the Making of a Monster is actually somewhat less about the countess herself and more about the problematic political, religious and gender related circumstances, about the rumours, innuendos, abuse and the centuries long misinformation (and how this was continuously regenerated and expanded and continuously feeding upon the past) that gave rise to Elizabeth Bathory's unjust and also sadly pretty much complete vilification. And indeed, after now having read (and enjoyed albeit with some in my opinion righteous fury), The Blood Countess: Murder, Betrayal, and the Making of a Monster and especially Puhak's meticulous research, I most definitely totally am on Shelley Puhak's side so to speak, I absolutely do very much consider Bathory not a monster but instead a total victim (and am also rating The Blood Countess: Murder, Betrayal, and the Making of a Monster with a well deserved and solid five stars).
I read a fictionalized account of Elizabeth Báthory of Ecsed, a Hungarian noblewoman, with the same title many years ago. That was a horror novel. I was astonished that the horrors could be based on reality. But did I ever stop to think whether they actually were? No.
This book makes me ashamed of my younger self. I have always thought myself as a rebellious free thinker. I never stopped to consider the lies that would be spun around a powerful woman just to take her down. Elizabeth’s contemporaries, women less fortunate, were accused as witches with the exact same wild tales and lies. I should have known better.
Although, as a teenager I knew very little about the European witch trials. My only account was «the Crucible» by Arthur Miller about the Salem trials in the US. That was just a short little spat of the insanity that killed tens of thousands of women in Europe across two centuries. (I guess the US is making up for lost time now though.)
So every thing you think you know about Elizabeth Báthory is a lie concocted several hundred years ago to destroy a powerful woman. There is not a scrap of evidence that she killed anyone, bathed in virgin blood and had hundreds of young women on her conscience.
I read an ARC of this book, and as a woman of Hungarian (specifically, Székely) ancestry, I was so excited to do so. I believe it was the research for this book I had heard murmurings of years prior, when I once came across an article debating the validity of the claims laid against Báthory for centuries during a late-night scroll of Hungarian legends. I cannot say at this moment how much more I really learned about Elizabeth Báthory herself, but this book certainly taught me more about the people, politics, and religious tumult surrounding the accusations that this woman with a voice and power was a heartless, cold-blooded killer. She has always interested me so much, and I loved learning about her religious tolerance, belief in justice, protection of other women, healthcare practices during her era, and the events leading up to and concurrent with her being forcibly held in one of her castles until her death. I would honestly like more, please.
The history of a Hungarian murderer I never knew I needed 4 stars
This is the story of Elizabeth Bathory who many consider a serial killer with one of the highest victim counts ever.
A lot of history. In order to properly tell the tale you have to have a grasp of Hungarian history. It was good that the author was fully up to the task as the book doesn't drag as a lot of history laden books do.
Be prepared to think! The thing I love about a good true crime book is when facts are told without leading you by the hand to a conclusion. This was a textbook example of that kind of book
Recommendation I would recommend this to true crime fans willing to dig in and learn a little history.
This book was so disorganized. I understand the point the author wanted to make but I think she can lose a reader with the voluminous information of Hungarian history, Nadasdy family history, Thurzo family history, and the Bathory family history. It is understandable that all of it is linked but the disorganization of the information can bore the reader before getting to the interesting bits that involve Elizabeth Bathory. It was a hard read to get through I wish it was more succinct and got to the point the author was trying make.
Idk what I was expecting but it was unfortunately not some ‘Jeffrey Dahmer’, gory-esk story.
A majority of the book is based on history, the rich stealing each others shit, infectious, deadly diseases, and in the end not really proving whether Elizabeth was a murderer or not.
So many references to the possibility of murdering over 500 girls…. But not cause they couldn’t find the bodies?
To conclude, Queen Elizabeth the second (yes, our today’s Queen of England), married her second cousin which is a much closer incestous relation compared to the 1600’s.
Come for the murder (little) and vampire lore (non-existent), stay for the political intrigue (so much!)
The intersection of the Protestant Reformation, the sprawl of the Hapsburg Empire, witch hunts, misogyny, and early 17th century medicine wasn't what I was expecting, but it made for a captivating read. The author makes a compelling argument for the exoneration of a (literally) legendary (alleged) mass-murderer.
Een interessant boek, maar er word wel heel diep ingegaan op de omliggende culturele en historische problemen rondom Elizabeth Bathory. Begrijpelijk, maar dat maakte het voor mij saaier en moeilijker om doorheen te komen. Daarnaast wilde ik meer nadruk op haar? Eigenlijk heb ik niks nieuws geleerd en bleef ik op iets duisters hopen om de mythe rondom Bathory te rechtvaardigen. Maar nee: een vrouw met macht moet gewoon zo snel mogelijk onderdrukt worden door mannen. Ugh, mánnen. It does make me angry! Enorm veel zin om nu 10 andere boeken over vrouwen en feminisme te lezen. Dus dank daarvoor.
Interesting perspective. Elizabeth Báthory was manufactured into a monster through politics, misogyny, religious conflict and centuries of storytelling, and frankly, why doesn't that surprise me?
The embellishment’s of Bathory’s story are now a horror story in the back of your mind. Inspiration for vampira and the extent to which one is willing to go to keep power. This narrative presents a case that poses she may be innocent of some or all her crimes. Shelley Puhak dives into the archives and history to understand the context of Bathory. A straightforward read that analyzes the archives of Bathory and her time period. History is monumental to understanding Bathory. She presents the case documents, the history, and excerpts of Bathory’s life to present a different case that the public has not too often seen. This is a great way to think about and how women were portrayed and who was writing about them. I do not believe she (Bathory) was innocent, but this writing presents a compelling case to really question history through the research of the archives. This is a solid three due to the limiting information available despite the extensive research. And at times the writing feels a bit dry.
3.5 stars ▶︎ •၊၊||၊|။|||| | 8 hours and 7 minutes🎧 Narrated by Vivienne Leheny
I love Erzsébet Báthori or in English: Elizabeth Bathory. I have read many historical non-fiction and fiction books both about her. Even with mixed up translations, the lady was pure horror. Reading this, you will learn a lot about her history and background that lead to who she became. I loved the book but it had a lot of filler history that I could care less about, I wanted to read about her, everything else that is mentioned including all the religious Protestant mumbo-jumbo but did help explain how people were falsely accused and executed back in those days. I learned quite a bit but I wanted more of our main villain here.
This is just info Dump after info dump, and I kept getting lost and confused.
The story kept changing course and was all over the place talking about Hungarian Politics, Religion and History, Giving both too much information and not enough at the same time. The author spoke of historical figures and events as though you should already know them, making the story more confusing if you have no prior knowledge of the subject.
I was constantly confused at all the different jumps and disappointed as I felt the book was not as described.
I was listening to the audiobook and felt the narrator was doing an excellent job because with as dry as the story was, I would have quit sooner.
Was looking for more narrative Non-Fiction in this title than just the non-fiction descriptions of the era, cultural, and unbalanced gender norms. But they are important to grasp how important she was to her family and those she hired and hosted at her school but all it took was to be ostracized by men feeling inferior. This book discusses the power of whisper campaigns, conspiracy theories, and the troubling ways ordinary people can be manipulated into believing the worst about their neighbors.
The central argument of this book - that mistranslations, missing documents, and the religious and political circumstances of Early Modern Hungary have shaped our perception of "the Blood Countess" - could have been a really interesting academic article. But by dragging it out into a 300-something page book, Elizabeth starts to feel like a secondary character in her own story and we get long hypothetical exercises in "what if working class people were so uneducated that they thought medical care was torture?"
The story of Elisabeth Bathory has always seemed to good (and gruesome) to be true. This book cuts away all the myths and gives the reader what is probably the closest thing to the truth we’ll ever get. Too bad that the truth involves a lot of hungarian and Habsburg court intrigue and backstabbing.
Een soort van biografie, maar dan zó droog verteld dat het mij te saai wordt. De schrijfster heeft zeer veel research gedaan, én schrijft het ook allemaal op. Te veel, te wijds, teveel zijpaden.
Obviously Bathory didn't kill 650 girls, but those she did torture wouldn't appreciate this book. I guess in 200 years some writers trying to make a buck of a fad will paint Ghislaine Maxwell as poor vicim, wrongfully incarcerated because she angered the ruling patriarchy. Fuck the actual victims, right?
I didn’t mean to spiral, but my bookshelf had other plans. 🩸📚
Apparently, my recent reading theme was: blood, belief systems, and international chaos. I accidentally built the most intense stack, and honestly? I couldn’t look away.
The Lineup: End of Days by Chris Jennings: A sobering, sharp look at apocalyptic obsessions and American extremism. ⛈️
The Blood Countess by Shelley Puhak: Part true crime, part feminist reckoning. Was Elizabeth Báthory a monster or a political scapegoat? 🏰
Blood Relay by Devon Mihesuah: A tense, emotional mystery rooted in the Choctaw community. Perry Antelope is a top-tier lead. 🔍
The Devil's Bible by Steve Berry: Conspiracy-fueled adrenaline involving the actual Codex Gigas. Pure chaos. 📜
Altogether, these reads made me double-check every official version of history I’ve ever been told.
✨️Thank you, Little, Brown and Company, Bloomsbury Publishing, Bantam, Grand Central Publishing, Chris Jennings, Shelley Puhak, Devon Mihesuah and Steve Berry for sharing these books with us!