The Blood Confession – Alisa Libby
Being part Hungarian, I am always interested to learn about famous Hungarians. One famous Hungarian is the Countess Erzsébet Báthory, more commonly known as Elizabeth Bathory. According to history, Bathory was convicted of brutally murdering hundreds of young women and bathing in their blood. She is also considered one of the most prolific female serial killers in history. She also helped propel the myth of vampires and was mentioned in the Dracula sequel “Dracula: the Undead” by Dacre Stoker and Ian Holt.
Now, one thing I have to say is that this story drags a little bit. It seems to focus most of the novel on Elizabeth’s childhood. This might have been to establish her friendship with a peasant named Marianna. As Elizabeth lived well into her 50’s, I would have liked to learn more about her later life. Yes, she was obsessed with looking young and youthful, but that does not mean we have to focus on her youth.
One thing I should probably state is that this book is historical fiction, with a heavy emphasis on the “fiction” part. Yes, most historical fictions change things to suit the narrative, this novel seemed to go out of its way to deny history. Multiple times in the novel, Elizabeth states that she will not marry. In real life, she married and even had children. The book only mentions about 12 of her victims, whereas in real life she had closer to 500. The biggest difference is in her age. In this story, she is around 30 when she is sentenced to death, whereas she lived to be 54 years old.
According to HistoryToday.com, “She believed that drinking the blood of young girls would preserve her youthfulness and her looks. Witnesses told of her stabbing victims or biting their breasts, hands, faces and arms, cutting them with scissors, sticking needles into their lips or burning them with red-hot irons, coins or keys. Some were beaten to death and some were starved. The story that Elizabeth used to bathe in their blood seems to have been added later on.”
One thing that the book got right was her death. She was locked in a room all alone where the windows were closed up, where she lived for five years before her death. In “The Blood Confession,” the story of her life is her last confession in an attempt to appease the ghosts of her victims and her dear friend Marianna.
One thing that I am glad they got right was the arrest of four of her servant girls, who allegedly (though, in the book, concretely) assisted her in her crimes. This is a nice addition, as it’s often a fact that could get lost to history.
This book is a good read, but don’t take it as fact. It is very, very far from fact. I would say that it was a young adult novel, but for the level of violence. I do have to say that if this does get you interested in the story of Elizabeth Bathory, then great! She is a woman who deserves to be learned about. However, do not make this your be-all, end-all of her story. She deserves much better.
You can get a copy of “The Blood Confession” by Alisa Libby here.
Countess Bathory, Elizabeth Bathory, historical fiction, Hungary, murderess, vampire
