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    The Bloodletter's Daughter: A Novel of Old Bohemia
    The Bloodletter's Daughter: A Novel of Old Bohemia
    The Bloodletter's Daughter: A Novel of Old Bohemia
    Audiobook13 hours

    The Bloodletter's Daughter: A Novel of Old Bohemia

    Written by Linda Lafferty

    Narrated by Carrington MacDuffie

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Within the glittering Hapsburg court in Prague lurks a darkness of which no one dares speak…

    In 1606, the city of Prague shines as a golden mecca of art and culture carefully cultivated by Emperor Rudolf II. But the emperor hides an ugly secret: His bastard son, Don Julius, is afflicted with a madness that pushes the young prince to unspeakable depravity. Desperate to stem his son’s growing number of scandals, the emperor exiles Don Julius to a remote corner of Bohemia where the young man is placed in the care of a bloodletter named Pichler. The bloodletter’s task: cure Don Julius of his madness by purging the vicious humors coursing through his veins.

    When Pichler brings his daughter Marketa to assist him, she becomes the object of Don Julius’s frenzied—and dangerous—obsession. To him, she is the embodiment of the women pictured in the Coded Book of Wonder, a priceless manuscript from the imperial library that was the mad prince’s only link to sanity. As the prince descends further into the darkness of his mind, his acts become ever more desperate, as Marketa, both frightened and fascinated, can’t stay away.

    Inspired by a real-life murder that threatened to topple the powerful Hapsburg dynasty, The Bloodletter’s Daughter is a dark and richly detailed saga of passion and revenge.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateSep 4, 2012
    ISBN9781469228242
    The Bloodletter's Daughter: A Novel of Old Bohemia
    Author

    Linda Lafferty

    Linda Lafferty is the author of The Bloodletter’s Daughter, House of Bathory, Light in the Shadows, The Girl Who Fought Napoleon, and the Colorado Book Award winners The Drowning Guard and The Shepherdess of Siena. Her books have been translated into ten languages. She holds a doctorate in bilingual special education and taught in Spain for three years. Lafferty is also an avid equestrian and horse lover.

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    Reviews for The Bloodletter's Daughter

    3.5/5

    145 ratings14 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Prague 1606: Bath girl and Bloodletter’s Daughter Marketa is accidentally drawn into the madness of Don Julius, the Emperor’s mad bastard son.Don Julius is banished to a remote corner of Bohemia to be ‘cured’—will it work? Upon seeing the Bloodletters Daughter, he is certain she has stepped from the pages of the Coded Book of Wonders, a priceless manuscript which he believes is the key to his sanity. Marketa is drawn in and hopes to be the one to heal the bastard prince but has she bitten off more than she can chew? Is he the ticket to a better life in Prague.I was immediately drawn in to the story and turned the page wondering what would happen. It was well researched but about 2/3 of the way through the story began to drag a bit but I kept with it. The side story of Matthias was a bit distracting, it seemed as if it was plopped in the middle of the story in order to support a not yet written sequel. I kept waiting for a big reveal on the Coded Book which never came; the ending was a bit of a letdown. At close to 500 pages, it just ended up being too long and drawn out…
    • 5/5
      A gripping tale! I couldn't put it down!
    • 4/5
      Fascinating historical fiction based on the true story of illegitimate Hapsburg heir Don Julius and how he murdered a girl from Český Krumlov, a small village where he had been banished as punishment for his erratic and violent behavior (his father, Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II, seemed to be in denial about Don Julius' mental illness). Great historical detail of the Hapsburg dynasty as well as an insightful look at life in Eastern Europe in the early 1600s. Vivid characters and a well-written story that captures the issues of the times (religious, political, gender).
    • 5/5
      I LOVED this book. The fact that it is historical fiction and makes me want to go look up more history on the time is telling regarding how good it is. It is well written and the audio book was well read. I became very involved as I was reading. I love some characters, wanted to slap others, and hated a few. Any book that gets you emotionally involved is a good book. I highly recommend reading this book!
    • 1/5
      I stopped at page 170 because I simply couldn't read anymore of this book. At first glance, it was interesting, even captivating, so I kept reading. It was too salacious for my tastes, but that isn't why I gave it one star and stopped reading. The characters were caricatures or stereotypes; the writing was rife with cliche'; the dialogue was stilted, and the descriptions unimaginative. If the author did thorough research of the time period (early 17th century), it didn't show. She didn't tell me anything I hadn't already learned in school. Granted, I didn't get past 170 pages, so I can't say unequivocally that the book doesn't go into more depth. But at a whopping 514 pages, it required a time commitment that I stopped being willing to make. A book that long better be a quality book because it is asking a lot from the reader. I'm afraid that this book didn't even come close to being worth it.
    • 4/5
      Ah! A surprising treat! I don't know quite where I found this book, perhaps Amazon suggested it to me for my Kindle, and I loved the picture on the cover. It accounts a true "scandalous butchery" of the bath maid Marketa Pichlerova by Bohemia's Rudolf II's son Don Julius in 1608. Don Julius was crazy, perhaps a genetic result of royal inbreeding, perhaps with schizophrenia. According to Lafferty's fictional account he was alternately "in love" with Marketa and enraged that she was a whore; he also feared witchcraft. Lafferty did extensive research into the state of science, religion (Catholic priests and nuns as well as Protestants), medicine, and folk ways, including women herbal healers who were called witches. There were times while I was reading the book that I felt irritated by her casting Marketa as a girl who wanted to learn science, and who wanted to be a doctor. The author strained my credulity quite a bit but in the end she came up with a very clever trick ending which resulted in a happy ever-after ending which was satisfying. I am pretty sure the real person was murdered but that would make a very sad, and probably unsatisfactory, novel. I liked the book and recommend it to lovers of historical fiction, and maybe those who like a little romance patina on it.
    • 5/5
      I really enjoyed this story of Bohemia in the early 1600s, about the mad prince Don Julius, favourite son of the King Rudolf II. He was so depraved he would do unmentionable things to anyone around him on a whim. Told about a time when the letting of blood was believed to cure the humours in the body when they become unbalanced. The story concerns Marketa the daughter of the villages Bloodletter, who unusually helps her father. Don Julius's unbalanced mind conjures up all kinds of fantasies concerning Marketa and danger overtakes the whole village that Don Julius is sent to, to be cured.A story based on historical facts, but I think the author has taken some liberties in the telling of the tale! Nevertheless an intruiging and intersting read.
    • 4/5
      Wow... What an amazing book! I actually would give it 4.9 stars. The only reason I didn't give it five stars was the ending. The ending was rather abrupt and it didn't really explain how Marketa survived, only that her aunt possibly took her place but it's not clear that that annoyed me. As well as the reasoning behind Annabella sleeping with Jakub... Just to clear him of his issues with virginity? It didn't make sense and wasn't well explained. Otherwise this was a great book!
    • 2/5
      Incredibly well-researched and surprisingly accurate, but appallingly written. I don't remember the last time I read such terrible writing; I often found myself cringing. The story was fascinating enough to hold my attention, but otherwise there's nothing to recommend it.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed The Bloodletter's Daughter more than I imagined. The excerpts with Matthias, however, seemed disjointed and did not flow with the rest of the narratives. Marketa is generally a likeable character even if she does some insanely stupid actions.
    • 1/5
      My dad's family is Bohemian and that area is never mentioned in school so I bought the book hoping to bet a little insight. I learned that they ate soup and drank beer for breakfast. Rich people did what they wanted and covered up for each other, just like today. Other than that, the book was just a bunch of nastiness. Nothing enjoyable or enlightening. Wooden characters I couldn't feel any attachment to. When you are blah about a teenager getting raped & falling out a tower window, something is missing in the writer's style. Sorry I bought it and more sorry I read it.
    • 5/5
      I loved this book!! It ranks right up there with The Hangman's Daughter with me and everyone knows how much I love that book!!
    • 4/5
      As explained in the very welcome author's note and interview, this novel was very well researched. The time period, the bath houses, the bloodletting and Marketa, who is the main character of this novel, all really existed and in much the way it is written. The insanity that ran through the Hapsburg's is well documented and so it is portrayed here. That his blindness to his sons condition definitely added to the reason Rupert is deprived of his crown. This is a very dark book, almost melancholy in tone, but I loved all the history within especially the very real power struggle between the all powerful church and the sciences. This book actually encompasses quite a bit, the historical struggle, the relationship of Marketa and the mad prince, as well as the quest in medical and other scientific fields. While at times the conversations between characters seemed awkward, the author foes a great job in descriptive paragraphs and taken as a whole, this was a very goo first novel.
    • 4/5
      In the early 17th century, the Holy Roman Empire was a brutal and unforgiving place. Ruled by the strange Hapsburg Emperor Rudolf II, yet under the strong control of the Catholic Church, the lives of commoners were often poor, short and joyless. In the Bohemian village of Cesky Krumlov live Marketa Pichlerova and her family. Her mother runs the village bathhouse. Her father is the village’s barber-surgeon. Assisting her father, Marketa learn the art and science of blood-letting. Unlike most girls of her time, Marketa has also learned to read and write. She yearns for more scientific knowledge and to become a doctor herself.All of this is at odds with her work in the bathhouse. Her mother hopes that Marketa’s youthful beauty will attract a patron, whose fees to the bathhouse will help support the family. Marketa does acquire a patron, and a vulgar nickname by which the villagers taunt her unceasingly.Meanwhile Don Julius, the bastard eldest son of Emperor Rudolf, is imprisoned in the castle that dominates the town. Rudolf has imprisoned Julius because his youthful outrageous behavior has gotten out of hand. He eats, drinks, and womanizes to excess. He is frequently involved in street brawls, and has become a danger to himself and others. Rudolf arranges for Julius to be in the care of a Jesuit priest, as well as physicians. This includes a court physician, as well as the local blood-letter, Marketa’s father.When Marketa accompanies her father to the blood-lettings, Julius falls in love with her. Of course he is quite insane and not to be trusted. In order to allow the blood-lettings, Julius negotiates with his captors to eventually be left alone with Marketa, and dire consequences ensue.Despite the dreary world that this novel depicts, I found myself liking it quite a bit. The characters are interesting, and the story is engaging. The most amazing part is that this book is based on true events and people. Most of what I’ve previously read about Rudolf II and his time concerned his obsession with mythology and scientific advances, as well as his numerous and bizarre collections. I liked that this book tells about the lives of the common people of the time.