The Blood CountessThe Blood Countess

There have long been whispers, coming from the castle, from the village square and from the dark woods. The great lady--a countess, from one of Europe's oldest families--is a vicious killer. Some even say she bathes in the blood of her victims. But despite claims that Elizabeth Bathory tortured and killed as many as 650 girls, some have wondered if the Countess was herself a victim of one of the most successful disinformation campaigns known to history. So, was Elizabeth Bathory a monster, a victim, or a bit of both? With the breathlessness of a whodunit, drawing upon new archival evidence and questioning old assumptions, Shelley Puhak traces the Countess's downfall, bringing to life an assertive woman leader in a world sliding into anti-scientific, reactionary darkness--a world where nothing is ever as it seems.