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Wicked Children: Murderous Tales from History
Wicked Children: Murderous Tales from History, by Karen Maitland, author of the much-loved Company of Liars, makes for compulsive reading that will captivate true crime readers and fans of C.J. Sansom and Kate Mosse. 'Imaginative, hideous, irresistible' Sunday Telegraph
'An adult who commits murder usually has some kind of motive we can understand, however twisted, but a child who kills often does it simply because they discover they can - and no one is stopping them.'
Karen Maitland, Queen of the Dark Ages, has created possibly some of the most wicked children in fiction. From Narigorm, the child rune reader with a penchant for death, from Company of Liars, to the scheming yet devastatingly beautiful Leonia in The Vanishing Witch, they revel in manipulating the world around them - and those foolish enough to cross them. In Wicked Children: Murderous Tales from History, Karen Maitland explores some of the real-life cases of dangerous and powerful children which have inspired her own young - but deadly - characters.
68 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 25, 2016
130 people are currently reading
487 people want to read
About the author
Karen Maitland
28 books1,193 followersKaren Maitland, who also writes as KJ Maitland, has a doctorate in psycholinguists and lives in the beautiful county of Devon, close to Dartmoor where Agatha Christie had her writing retreat and Sir Arthur Colon Doyle wrote 'The Hound of the Baskervilles', one of Karen’s favourite childhood books.
Writing as KJ Maitland, 'A Plague of Serpents,' the final historical thriller in her Jacobean quartet, is now out in pb. Set in the aftermath of the infamous Gunpowder Plot of 1605, Daniel Pursglove is ordered to infiltrate the 'Serpents', a desperate band of Catholics plotting the death of the King, or face his own execution. The 1st book in the series -'The Drowned City', the 2nd - 'Traitor in the Ice', and the 3rd - 'Rivers of Treason', are all published by Headline.
Her first stand alone medieval thriller was 'Company of Liars', was set at the time of the Black Death in 1348. This was followed by The Owl Killers', 'The Gallows Curse', 'Falcons of Fire and Ice', 'The Vanishing Witch', 'The Raven's Head,' 'The Plague Charmer' and 'A Gathering of Ghosts', Her medieval novels are written under the name of Karen Maitland and are published by Penguin and Headline.
Karen is also one of six historical crime writers known as the Medieval Murderers – Philip Gooden, Susannah Gregory, Michael Jecks, Bernard Knight and Ian Morson – who together write joint murder-mystery novel, including 'The Sacred Stone', 'Hill of Bones' and 'The First Murder', 'The False Virgin' and 'The Deadliest Sin' published by Simon & Schuster.
Writing as KJ Maitland, 'A Plague of Serpents,' the final historical thriller in her Jacobean quartet, is now out in pb. Set in the aftermath of the infamous Gunpowder Plot of 1605, Daniel Pursglove is ordered to infiltrate the 'Serpents', a desperate band of Catholics plotting the death of the King, or face his own execution. The 1st book in the series -'The Drowned City', the 2nd - 'Traitor in the Ice', and the 3rd - 'Rivers of Treason', are all published by Headline.
Her first stand alone medieval thriller was 'Company of Liars', was set at the time of the Black Death in 1348. This was followed by The Owl Killers', 'The Gallows Curse', 'Falcons of Fire and Ice', 'The Vanishing Witch', 'The Raven's Head,' 'The Plague Charmer' and 'A Gathering of Ghosts', Her medieval novels are written under the name of Karen Maitland and are published by Penguin and Headline.
Karen is also one of six historical crime writers known as the Medieval Murderers – Philip Gooden, Susannah Gregory, Michael Jecks, Bernard Knight and Ian Morson – who together write joint murder-mystery novel, including 'The Sacred Stone', 'Hill of Bones' and 'The First Murder', 'The False Virgin' and 'The Deadliest Sin' published by Simon & Schuster.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
May 29, 2018
Malicious
Wicked Children by Karen Maitland, is a very interesting and informative piece of work. It is not written as a novel but as a booklet conveying a series of instances and examples of murderous children. It does flow very well and provides some insight into how Karen developed the background and characters to many of her novels.
The history of children being responsible for many of the horrendous periods and events in history is quite startling. Karen takes us on an insightful journey through the history of many instances where children, from the child monarchs, to the role children played in the Spanish Inquisition, to the Salem witch trials have caused massive upheaval. It is frightening how the word of a child, and our natural reaction to protect them, can have such manipulated, devastating and immutable outcomes. We have all heard the rhyme
There are another 2 sections on poisons and their antidotes which again is very enlightening and we realise just how prevalent poisoning was in medieval times. I found the poisons from natural ingredients really interesting and a well-presented coverage in the book.
Karen has used many of these insights in her books and they have always provided that little edge of suspense and trepidation. I really enjoyed the book – quick, informative and written by an author that just pleases me with everything she writes. Wicked Children is a short, free, eBook and is well worth a read.
Wicked Children by Karen Maitland, is a very interesting and informative piece of work. It is not written as a novel but as a booklet conveying a series of instances and examples of murderous children. It does flow very well and provides some insight into how Karen developed the background and characters to many of her novels.
"An adult who commits murder usually has some kind of motive we can understand, however twisted, but a child who kills often does it simply because they discovered they can – and no one is stopping them.”
The history of children being responsible for many of the horrendous periods and events in history is quite startling. Karen takes us on an insightful journey through the history of many instances where children, from the child monarchs, to the role children played in the Spanish Inquisition, to the Salem witch trials have caused massive upheaval. It is frightening how the word of a child, and our natural reaction to protect them, can have such manipulated, devastating and immutable outcomes. We have all heard the rhyme
"There was a little girl who had a little curl, right in the middle of her forehead, And when she was good she was very, very good and when she was bad she was horrid.”Just how bad can horrid be? Well, serial killer bad!
There are another 2 sections on poisons and their antidotes which again is very enlightening and we realise just how prevalent poisoning was in medieval times. I found the poisons from natural ingredients really interesting and a well-presented coverage in the book.
Karen has used many of these insights in her books and they have always provided that little edge of suspense and trepidation. I really enjoyed the book – quick, informative and written by an author that just pleases me with everything she writes. Wicked Children is a short, free, eBook and is well worth a read.
March 6, 2019
I feel immensely cheated by this, but unsure whether I have grounds for this feeling. I downloaded this book free from Amazon (hence the hesitation to feel justified in complaining), believing I was due to be regaled by horrendous and murderous acts committed by children in days gone by. I was not allowed this.
The incredibly short exploration of youthful murderers of yore was akin to an unengaging piece of research done by a sullen and resistant high school teenager. There was no structure; no defining ideas. The various crimes were presented in a wall of text with no breaks, and no clear indication of sections, making it difficult to differentiate between the children, their deeds, and their ultimate fates. I wanted gore, I wanted shocking motive, I wanted crass depictions of utter horror. I’m actually amazed an account such as this could be so dull.
After the whistlestop tour of evil kids (if there’s anything quicker than a whistlestop tour, please do let me know, as I should be using that metaphor in this case), we’re given a long list of ways in which poisons were concocted in the past. When you think you’ve finally escaped from the monotonous world of the apothecary, Maitland uses another chapter to drone on about the antidotes to such poisons. I almost skipped back a chapter to see if there was anything in my house with which I could use to harm myself.
And finally, the most frustrating aspect of this whole ordeal was the insertion of chapters from a couple of Maitland’s novels. I had no interest in these - I don’t enjoy reading bonus chapters shoehorned into the end of novels - and I’m astounded at the realisation that the entire purpose of this book was to shamelessly sell her other books. I understand promotion, and I’m comfortable with it, but to wade through a load of drivel, in complete confusion, only to be presented with what is effectively an advertisement, is incredibly frustrating.
Like watching the first half hour of a horror film before experiencing an eternal power cut.
The incredibly short exploration of youthful murderers of yore was akin to an unengaging piece of research done by a sullen and resistant high school teenager. There was no structure; no defining ideas. The various crimes were presented in a wall of text with no breaks, and no clear indication of sections, making it difficult to differentiate between the children, their deeds, and their ultimate fates. I wanted gore, I wanted shocking motive, I wanted crass depictions of utter horror. I’m actually amazed an account such as this could be so dull.
After the whistlestop tour of evil kids (if there’s anything quicker than a whistlestop tour, please do let me know, as I should be using that metaphor in this case), we’re given a long list of ways in which poisons were concocted in the past. When you think you’ve finally escaped from the monotonous world of the apothecary, Maitland uses another chapter to drone on about the antidotes to such poisons. I almost skipped back a chapter to see if there was anything in my house with which I could use to harm myself.
And finally, the most frustrating aspect of this whole ordeal was the insertion of chapters from a couple of Maitland’s novels. I had no interest in these - I don’t enjoy reading bonus chapters shoehorned into the end of novels - and I’m astounded at the realisation that the entire purpose of this book was to shamelessly sell her other books. I understand promotion, and I’m comfortable with it, but to wade through a load of drivel, in complete confusion, only to be presented with what is effectively an advertisement, is incredibly frustrating.
Like watching the first half hour of a horror film before experiencing an eternal power cut.
April 29, 2020
Not nearly as long and detailed as I had hoped it would be. Thought it was an book but it’s really only a small grouping of pages that introduces some children and their evil ways. Good thing is one can get this free on your iBooks account so no money wasted.
August 30, 2018
Just as The Dangerous Art of Alchemy, this was a short intro to another book, The Plague Charmer. In this cute little appendix we get some stories about wicked and murderous kids from a couple of hundreds years ago as well as the top ten list of most popular poisons, together with top ten accompanying antidotes and I kid you not, poisons look just much more of fun and effect to me. Just saying... Short but fun (ehem) read.
February 17, 2021
Found this short free book on the Kindle store and thought it sounded like the perfect quick read when you just have that little bit of time to squeeze a book in.
I did really enjoy reading it and learning about children who in the past, medieval times had that murderous streak in them which we are much more aware of in current years. I hadnt realised how bad it was in the past asI was mainly aware of adult murderers.
I really liked the fact that she had included in it poisons from the past and things that were considered to be able to cure poisonings. I was particularly fascinated about the fact on parsley !
The only thing I did like was that the last half of this short book was taken up by advertising her next 2 books.. I dont mind a couple of pages at the end to promote other books but not when it is practically half the book when it's only a short book already. But any fans of history I would recommend this book !
I did really enjoy reading it and learning about children who in the past, medieval times had that murderous streak in them which we are much more aware of in current years. I hadnt realised how bad it was in the past asI was mainly aware of adult murderers.
I really liked the fact that she had included in it poisons from the past and things that were considered to be able to cure poisonings. I was particularly fascinated about the fact on parsley !
The only thing I did like was that the last half of this short book was taken up by advertising her next 2 books.. I dont mind a couple of pages at the end to promote other books but not when it is practically half the book when it's only a short book already. But any fans of history I would recommend this book !
June 20, 2018
от як треба робити рекламні буклети.
майже дві третини книжки – це розділи з романів мейтленд на скуштувати. але передують їм коротенькі нариси про жорстоких дітей і про отрути з протиотрутами, і тут по-справжньому цікаво. у першому випадку – веселі історії типу "вдавати конвульсії у присутності сусідки, щоб переконати всіх, що вона відьма, і так довести її до страти"; у другому – списки способів, з одного боку, отруїти ближнього, а з іншого, уникнути смерті від отрави, і перший якийсь асиметрично ефективніший (доказове людобійство, вочевидь, розвинулося значно раніше за доказову медицину).
майже дві третини книжки – це розділи з романів мейтленд на скуштувати. але передують їм коротенькі нариси про жорстоких дітей і про отрути з протиотрутами, і тут по-справжньому цікаво. у першому випадку – веселі історії типу "вдавати конвульсії у присутності сусідки, щоб переконати всіх, що вона відьма, і так довести її до страти"; у другому – списки способів, з одного боку, отруїти ближнього, а з іншого, уникнути смерті від отрави, і перший якийсь асиметрично ефективніший (доказове людобійство, вочевидь, розвинулося значно раніше за доказову медицину).
February 7, 2017
Ok, so I'm a huge fan of Karen Maitland and I knew this was a short and sweet read. It was free on Amazon and I think it is well worth a read if you're fancying a bit of inside information on Maitlands ideas for her characters and storylines.
Firstly, there's a grizzly chapter on the things that medieval kids got up to. From murder and torture, to taking great pleasure in accusing people of witchcraft leading to many a death of innocent folk.
Then we get to a rather interesting chapter on poisons and how they were administered in evil and twisted ways to unsuspecting people.
And that, in turn leads to another chapter about antidotes and how to make lotions and potions to prevent or cure.
The author then continues with some extracts from two of her novels to whet the appetite, which it certainly did for me.
Karen Maitland is definitely 'Queen of the Dark Ages' whose books haven't failed to impress as yet, although I still have a few to get through. In my honest opinion, I can't fault her one iota.
4 star rating, only lacking in a star because I didn't want to read the excerpts and ruin it for myself as I will read more from her without a doubt.
Firstly, there's a grizzly chapter on the things that medieval kids got up to. From murder and torture, to taking great pleasure in accusing people of witchcraft leading to many a death of innocent folk.
Then we get to a rather interesting chapter on poisons and how they were administered in evil and twisted ways to unsuspecting people.
And that, in turn leads to another chapter about antidotes and how to make lotions and potions to prevent or cure.
The author then continues with some extracts from two of her novels to whet the appetite, which it certainly did for me.
Karen Maitland is definitely 'Queen of the Dark Ages' whose books haven't failed to impress as yet, although I still have a few to get through. In my honest opinion, I can't fault her one iota.
4 star rating, only lacking in a star because I didn't want to read the excerpts and ruin it for myself as I will read more from her without a doubt.
July 19, 2018
"Blatant advert disguised as a book"
Let me get this straight. It's acceptable to regurgitate events from history involving children who kill. Then to add a list of poisons and their antidotes, all of which must have appeared somewhere else. Ah, here it is, the real reason for the subterfuge; an excerpt from the new book, plus a quick reminder of the others this author has on offer. No wonder it's free. The sooner Amazon stamp out this practice the better, I reckon.
Let me get this straight. It's acceptable to regurgitate events from history involving children who kill. Then to add a list of poisons and their antidotes, all of which must have appeared somewhere else. Ah, here it is, the real reason for the subterfuge; an excerpt from the new book, plus a quick reminder of the others this author has on offer. No wonder it's free. The sooner Amazon stamp out this practice the better, I reckon.
December 2, 2017
Wicked Children Through History by Karen Maitland.
This is a short ebook that is available free of cost at the Kindle store and is written by Karen Maitland, whom I'm Binge Reading. It's very short and easy to read within a single sitting. But mind you, it is as horrifying as any of the authors other books. So, the book begins with a record of children's presented by author in a fantastic narrative that scares the readers. The author explores the historical crimes committed by juveniles and how they killed or instigated elders to kill just for the sake of pleasure and fun. The author makes a point by convincing that the innocent young souls we call children are much much different (were). Many scary events have been presented with dates which seem to be real (or are real, as he author claims). If you don't believe it then dates and names of courts are given. Also included are witchcraft tales, blasphemous accusations and gory murders all committed by young children. Reading this section left me a bit scared. The next section follows brief information about Ten Medieval Poisons and how they can be used effectively. Along with the name of the poison, the author has also provided it's physical description and it's major uses across history to assassinate or murder other people. This is very informative but not really useful in modern times. Next we have Ten Medieval antidotes to Poisons, some of which are still used today. Similarly to the preceding sections, this sections shows how to counter various Poisons and it's effect. The ingredients used in it are rare and indigenous. A very informative book which may serve as a reference for all of Maitland's proficient works and the author also explains at the beginning of the book how she has adopter characters for her book from the crimes committed by juveniles and the popular Poisons were actually used in England at a large scale. The book also includes a sample chapter of The Plague Charmers as well as the Vanishing Witch, both of them are Authors works. I would surely recommend this book to anyone who's Binge Reading Karen Maitland. A great reference book to all her works. Nice Reading.
This is a short ebook that is available free of cost at the Kindle store and is written by Karen Maitland, whom I'm Binge Reading. It's very short and easy to read within a single sitting. But mind you, it is as horrifying as any of the authors other books. So, the book begins with a record of children's presented by author in a fantastic narrative that scares the readers. The author explores the historical crimes committed by juveniles and how they killed or instigated elders to kill just for the sake of pleasure and fun. The author makes a point by convincing that the innocent young souls we call children are much much different (were). Many scary events have been presented with dates which seem to be real (or are real, as he author claims). If you don't believe it then dates and names of courts are given. Also included are witchcraft tales, blasphemous accusations and gory murders all committed by young children. Reading this section left me a bit scared. The next section follows brief information about Ten Medieval Poisons and how they can be used effectively. Along with the name of the poison, the author has also provided it's physical description and it's major uses across history to assassinate or murder other people. This is very informative but not really useful in modern times. Next we have Ten Medieval antidotes to Poisons, some of which are still used today. Similarly to the preceding sections, this sections shows how to counter various Poisons and it's effect. The ingredients used in it are rare and indigenous. A very informative book which may serve as a reference for all of Maitland's proficient works and the author also explains at the beginning of the book how she has adopter characters for her book from the crimes committed by juveniles and the popular Poisons were actually used in England at a large scale. The book also includes a sample chapter of The Plague Charmers as well as the Vanishing Witch, both of them are Authors works. I would surely recommend this book to anyone who's Binge Reading Karen Maitland. A great reference book to all her works. Nice Reading.
October 7, 2019
Non è possibile neanche classificarlo come libro, tanto che l'ho anche segnalato ad Amazon per rimuoverlo.
Sull'argomento principale, cioè bambini assassini nella storia, ci sono una ventina di pagine, più o meno. E non aspettatevi granchè neanche da questo: è una lista scarsa di assassini, il nome della vittima e poco più. Un elenco alfabetico leggermente rimpolpato, tutto qui. Non solo, già questa parte iniziale è infarcita di link e suggerimenti di acquisto degli altri libri della stessa autrice.
Il resto dell'ebook è composto di anteprime degli altri libri della Maitland, non uno, ma almeno due! Ridicolo, assolutamente ridicolo.
Sull'argomento principale, cioè bambini assassini nella storia, ci sono una ventina di pagine, più o meno. E non aspettatevi granchè neanche da questo: è una lista scarsa di assassini, il nome della vittima e poco più. Un elenco alfabetico leggermente rimpolpato, tutto qui. Non solo, già questa parte iniziale è infarcita di link e suggerimenti di acquisto degli altri libri della stessa autrice.
Il resto dell'ebook è composto di anteprime degli altri libri della Maitland, non uno, ma almeno due! Ridicolo, assolutamente ridicolo.
March 11, 2021
Slightly misleading title.
As interesting as it is, only a third of this book has anything to do with 'Wicked Children'. A further third is a list of medieval poisons and anti-dotes. The remaining third is a preview of one of the authors other novels.
The history was interesting but there just wasn't enough.
As interesting as it is, only a third of this book has anything to do with 'Wicked Children'. A further third is a list of medieval poisons and anti-dotes. The remaining third is a preview of one of the authors other novels.
The history was interesting but there just wasn't enough.
April 13, 2020
Always start with a positive: the title is correct! Very wicked children!
Not so positive: it was like reading one really long sentence without taking a breath.
Not so positive: it was like reading one really long sentence without taking a breath.
September 18, 2020
2.5/5
Un ensayo corto, aunque interesante, sobre niños malvados en la historia de Inglaterra (y un poco de EU y un poquito de Europa). También trae una pequeña sección sobre los venenos y antídotos más comunes en la Edad Media.
Eso sí, me habría gustado que la autora incluyera una bibliografía para saber más de los dos temas tratados (niños malvados y venenos medievales).
Un ensayo corto, aunque interesante, sobre niños malvados en la historia de Inglaterra (y un poco de EU y un poquito de Europa). También trae una pequeña sección sobre los venenos y antídotos más comunes en la Edad Media.
Eso sí, me habría gustado que la autora incluyera una bibliografía para saber más de los dos temas tratados (niños malvados y venenos medievales).
March 18, 2020
There's only about 10 pages here about "Wicked Children". Then we have, bizarrely, a Top Ten list of medieval poisons, followed by a Top Ten of medieval antidotes. Why? It's just blatant filler.
But even worse than filler is the fact that the rest of the book, constituting OVER HALF of the overall contents, are preview chapters for two of the author's other books.
Look, I get that it's a freebie and beggars can't be choosers and all that, but AT LEAST have the relevant content in your "book" outweigh the blatant advertisements. This is basically a pack of preview chapters with a Wikipedia article tacked on the front. It really doesn't inspire me to check out more of this author's (or this publisher's) other works. In fact, it does quite the opposite.
The cover's nice, though.
But even worse than filler is the fact that the rest of the book, constituting OVER HALF of the overall contents, are preview chapters for two of the author's other books.
Look, I get that it's a freebie and beggars can't be choosers and all that, but AT LEAST have the relevant content in your "book" outweigh the blatant advertisements. This is basically a pack of preview chapters with a Wikipedia article tacked on the front. It really doesn't inspire me to check out more of this author's (or this publisher's) other works. In fact, it does quite the opposite.
The cover's nice, though.
October 26, 2024
An interesting historical read...
An interesting historical book, but I do have to wonder if the children in most but not all of these stories would have done what they did without the compliance of the adults in higher powers, alot of these stories are children who accused people of witchcraft but the adults in their lives and the ones in higher power seemed to encourage the children to continue to make these claims such as forcing flash confessions out of the accused or locking the up and depriving them of food to obtain a 'confession' so the children's initial making up attention seeking stories seems to be just children being children, lots of children make up stories but when the adults in their lives bring attention and validity to these stories they can sometimes escalate so does that really make these children 'wicked'? i dont know about that one. Although bad as it was the children making these stories up, they were spurred on by the adults it seems to continue these claims, which ultimately ended in those innocent people being hung 🤔. The later stories of the children killing out of greed, curiosity, or revenge now that is 'wicked' children that's just something I can't get my head around, but I also have to wonder with these young people what was happening in their lives/minds for these thoughts/acts to even occur. Unfortunately, this book just labelled these young people's crimes and offered no insight into their lives or who they were, so maybe we might never know, it would have been a much better read if the author had done more research and added a bit more about the young people involved so we could make a fair judgement on whether they are actually 'wicked' as the book suggests,or whether their crimes were born out of circumstances at the time.
Happy reading, everyone ☺️ 📚
An interesting historical book, but I do have to wonder if the children in most but not all of these stories would have done what they did without the compliance of the adults in higher powers, alot of these stories are children who accused people of witchcraft but the adults in their lives and the ones in higher power seemed to encourage the children to continue to make these claims such as forcing flash confessions out of the accused or locking the up and depriving them of food to obtain a 'confession' so the children's initial making up attention seeking stories seems to be just children being children, lots of children make up stories but when the adults in their lives bring attention and validity to these stories they can sometimes escalate so does that really make these children 'wicked'? i dont know about that one. Although bad as it was the children making these stories up, they were spurred on by the adults it seems to continue these claims, which ultimately ended in those innocent people being hung 🤔. The later stories of the children killing out of greed, curiosity, or revenge now that is 'wicked' children that's just something I can't get my head around, but I also have to wonder with these young people what was happening in their lives/minds for these thoughts/acts to even occur. Unfortunately, this book just labelled these young people's crimes and offered no insight into their lives or who they were, so maybe we might never know, it would have been a much better read if the author had done more research and added a bit more about the young people involved so we could make a fair judgement on whether they are actually 'wicked' as the book suggests,or whether their crimes were born out of circumstances at the time.
Happy reading, everyone ☺️ 📚
July 6, 2020
For what this was I enjoyed this. For one it was FREE as a short piece, likely to introduce new readers to author’s work. Which I think definitely is taken into account when reviewing something as base it on the merits of what it is. As long as you don’t for some reason expect a whole book or for some reason had to pay for it (Though if it’s was under £1 I would not complain).
It was enjoyable short article on some old ‘killer kids’ not much individual detail but given age of these crimes doubt that much exists. It was interesting to read about cases from these times & goes to show all the b******t about violent games/movies corrupting kids for crap that it is (personal opinion there but) as people who commit horrific acts have been around for ever most likely. But as most true Crime shows/books etc. Only go up to
Victorian times roughly. Interesting to read something with cases older even if is just a brief essay type article on them. Also get a list of most popular old timey poisons & cures. Also 2 previews of authors full books (did not read these as do not like chapter previews as just end up wanting full thing). This review was probably too long for so short a book but I dunno it irks me when read a bad review complaining about length of a free book. Go in with a proper expectation & you will enjoy it more. It’s like people that give one star reviews to books not read cus they have heard something about it/author or people that give a game a one star review because they did not realise it does not work on console they own. It wasn’t sold as if it was. You bought the wrong thing. You made the mistake. That’s not a review of the product. It’s not like the book has a quote on the front saying an epic to rival a game of thrones ffs. Urgh, rant over.
It was enjoyable short article on some old ‘killer kids’ not much individual detail but given age of these crimes doubt that much exists. It was interesting to read about cases from these times & goes to show all the b******t about violent games/movies corrupting kids for crap that it is (personal opinion there but) as people who commit horrific acts have been around for ever most likely. But as most true Crime shows/books etc. Only go up to
Victorian times roughly. Interesting to read something with cases older even if is just a brief essay type article on them. Also get a list of most popular old timey poisons & cures. Also 2 previews of authors full books (did not read these as do not like chapter previews as just end up wanting full thing). This review was probably too long for so short a book but I dunno it irks me when read a bad review complaining about length of a free book. Go in with a proper expectation & you will enjoy it more. It’s like people that give one star reviews to books not read cus they have heard something about it/author or people that give a game a one star review because they did not realise it does not work on console they own. It wasn’t sold as if it was. You bought the wrong thing. You made the mistake. That’s not a review of the product. It’s not like the book has a quote on the front saying an epic to rival a game of thrones ffs. Urgh, rant over.
March 2, 2021
Okay, this short book was free on Kindle, so I shouldn’t really complain, but I am annoyed. The title and blurb were really enticing, I was enthused and started reading rather than adding to the pile, but the delivery is a real let down.
The essay on wicked children is a soulless cut and paste from the internet rather than anything approaching the academic examination of a phenomenon that was offered. It’s quite poor as well as surprisingly short.
It’s followed by an even shorter list of favourite medieval poisons and remedies. This bit is slightly more instructive, but again this is no more than Wikipedia level. Merely an aide-memoire.
We’re less than half way through this short book at this point, by the way.
The rest is made up of two sample chapters from two of the author’s novels. I don’t mind samplers. Nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with these samples, either. They’re plenty readable. But for goodness’ sake be honest and tell your readers that what you are offering is a sampler with a little bit of bonus materials. That would get the thumbs up from me.
This cynical exercise in deception gives me *no* intention to find out more about the author’s other works as all I have learnt here is not to trust the cover, title, or blurb in respect of them.
That’s no way to treat your potential customers.
The essay on wicked children is a soulless cut and paste from the internet rather than anything approaching the academic examination of a phenomenon that was offered. It’s quite poor as well as surprisingly short.
It’s followed by an even shorter list of favourite medieval poisons and remedies. This bit is slightly more instructive, but again this is no more than Wikipedia level. Merely an aide-memoire.
We’re less than half way through this short book at this point, by the way.
The rest is made up of two sample chapters from two of the author’s novels. I don’t mind samplers. Nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with these samples, either. They’re plenty readable. But for goodness’ sake be honest and tell your readers that what you are offering is a sampler with a little bit of bonus materials. That would get the thumbs up from me.
This cynical exercise in deception gives me *no* intention to find out more about the author’s other works as all I have learnt here is not to trust the cover, title, or blurb in respect of them.
That’s no way to treat your potential customers.
March 26, 2024
okay so the book is so short, right? and yet i feel so robbed for reading such a could-be-more-interesting book that has less than 100 pages. crazy.
here are things i dislike from the book:
1. it still has the stories that the title convinced us to read, but it delivered amateurish. i feel so ashamed to write that this was in true crime, history, and documentary categories. this wasn't a book, this was just a friend telling you her quick research from google based on whatever her brain could catch
2. i don't say you need a whole 500-long pages book to record an event, but why wasted pages, literally almost as many as the main point of the book, to added such a unnecessary information like medieval poisons and antidotes? it would, obviously, be helpful if the author developed the tales that we actually need. we didn't even get to that point
3. another wasted pages was used for her other books' promotion. again, i would totally be alright about it, as i usually read other books with tons of blurbs in the end, but compared to the main idea of the book it was probably 3:3:4 (story:poisons and antidotes facts:blurbs). it's fucked up man.
just give me what you offer from the title of thye book, cover, and synopsis. this was ridiculously a scam and im disapointed
here are things i dislike from the book:
1. it still has the stories that the title convinced us to read, but it delivered amateurish. i feel so ashamed to write that this was in true crime, history, and documentary categories. this wasn't a book, this was just a friend telling you her quick research from google based on whatever her brain could catch
2. i don't say you need a whole 500-long pages book to record an event, but why wasted pages, literally almost as many as the main point of the book, to added such a unnecessary information like medieval poisons and antidotes? it would, obviously, be helpful if the author developed the tales that we actually need. we didn't even get to that point
3. another wasted pages was used for her other books' promotion. again, i would totally be alright about it, as i usually read other books with tons of blurbs in the end, but compared to the main idea of the book it was probably 3:3:4 (story:poisons and antidotes facts:blurbs). it's fucked up man.
just give me what you offer from the title of thye book, cover, and synopsis. this was ridiculously a scam and im disapointed
November 2, 2021
“An adult who commits murder usually has some kind of motive we can understand, however twisted, but a child who kills often does it simply because they discover they can - and no one is stopping them.”
7% in, Wicked Children: Murderous Tales From History by Karen Maitland
A quick read. The first half is a selection of stories of wicked children and their terrible acts throughout written history, much of which take place in England and America. These wicked acts include murder and incitement to murder (as in the Salem Witch Trials - had the children not stuck so tenaciously to their flights of fancy, 22 people would not have found death at the end of a rope.)
A fascinating subject and one that can’t help but send a shiver to the back of the neck. This short book also contains a list of medieval poisons, antidotes, and a couple of sample chapters from the author’s fiction books. I’m bound to read more from Ms Maitland.
7% in, Wicked Children: Murderous Tales From History by Karen Maitland
A quick read. The first half is a selection of stories of wicked children and their terrible acts throughout written history, much of which take place in England and America. These wicked acts include murder and incitement to murder (as in the Salem Witch Trials - had the children not stuck so tenaciously to their flights of fancy, 22 people would not have found death at the end of a rope.)
A fascinating subject and one that can’t help but send a shiver to the back of the neck. This short book also contains a list of medieval poisons, antidotes, and a couple of sample chapters from the author’s fiction books. I’m bound to read more from Ms Maitland.
August 21, 2018
I downloaded this as a free eBook and did expect a short read however it was extremely short due to the fact that the latter part of the book contains chapters and sneak peeks into other works by the author. This successfully worked as a promotional tool though as it did pique my interest in this author and her other books.
Quite interesting and informative initially - starts with a chapter that is about wicked/murderous children as the book suggests. The book then describes 10 medieval poisons and then 10 medieval antidotes to poisons. Thereafter, the book is wholly dedicated to the promotion of other books.
Quite interesting and informative initially - starts with a chapter that is about wicked/murderous children as the book suggests. The book then describes 10 medieval poisons and then 10 medieval antidotes to poisons. Thereafter, the book is wholly dedicated to the promotion of other books.
April 9, 2020
I hate giving ratings this low, but when I get a book about child killers I don’t want 30% to be about the killers, 20% to be about poisons and the antidotes, and 50% to be about her other books! Thank goodness it was free.
15 child killers talked about with no page breaks or chapters. Literally paragraphs about each one and the next paragraph was a different child. No longer than 12 pages.
Then the top 10 medieval poisons.
And then 10 antidotes to the medieval poisons.
That was half the book! And that ended up being the whole book! The second half was literally the author promoting her other books and giving chapters to read for those.
15 child killers talked about with no page breaks or chapters. Literally paragraphs about each one and the next paragraph was a different child. No longer than 12 pages.
Then the top 10 medieval poisons.
And then 10 antidotes to the medieval poisons.
That was half the book! And that ended up being the whole book! The second half was literally the author promoting her other books and giving chapters to read for those.
January 3, 2021
El libro comenzó muy bien con casos reales de niños que han asesinado a lo largo de la historia. Sin embargo, después de 1/4 del libro comienza la publicidad de otros libros de la autora que están inspirados en estas historias.
No lo recomiendo.
ENG -
The book starts well, documenting real cases of wicked children in history, but after reading 1/4 of the book, the author starts with self promotion of other books she is working on, inspired by these children.
I do not recommend to anyone to waste their time reading this book.
No lo recomiendo.
ENG -
The book starts well, documenting real cases of wicked children in history, but after reading 1/4 of the book, the author starts with self promotion of other books she is working on, inspired by these children.
I do not recommend to anyone to waste their time reading this book.
August 20, 2020
An interesting insight into murderous children, mainly from the Witchcraft era rather than modern cases .. Always good to learn more about poisons too ..
Wanted to see whether the Author was someone who's Books I wished to look out for, and I think the answer is yes .. For this reason I decided not to read the Book Chapters at the end - will wait until I read the full length books properly, rather than just a taster ..
Wanted to see whether the Author was someone who's Books I wished to look out for, and I think the answer is yes .. For this reason I decided not to read the Book Chapters at the end - will wait until I read the full length books properly, rather than just a taster ..
June 29, 2019
The first section of this book is really interesting as it highlights what the title explains which is about wicked children and also about poisons and treatments for poison in the medieval times. The second half dragged a little more as it was excerpts from the authors fiction books which I didn't like as much. But nevertheless a good book.
July 27, 2019
I know this was a free book but I still feel cheated. Only a handful of pages in regards to murderous children. This was then followed by a list of poisons and antidotes. The remainder of the book is then starting chapters of other books that the author wishes you to buy. Too short and too much advertising. What a waste!
November 9, 2020
Ridiculously short. Just a chapter on children accused of murder (mostly during medieval times), a chapter on poisons, and a chapter on antidotes. The rest is teasers for her novels, which I didn’t bother to read.
The first part is very interesting and shockingly well written for one of these free ebooks mostly meant to promote an author’s longer works.
The first part is very interesting and shockingly well written for one of these free ebooks mostly meant to promote an author’s longer works.
January 9, 2021
Very interesting short discussing the history of child murderers and children who make up lies, such as accusing a woman of witch craft, that ended with said woman being trialled and often killed for being a witch. I read this in anticipation of reading some of Karen Maitland's novels. It's good that I've got a bit of historical background before I begin.
June 26, 2021
I can see why this book has such a terrible low rating, not because of the writing, Karen Maitand is a brilliant writer in my opinion. However this book covers gives the reader the Impression they will be reading a full book on wicked children, but actually what you get is a single chapter which doesn't delve into these little murderers in any depth at all. Very disappointing.
April 17, 2024
Reads like a childs conversation
As mentioned above, this reads like a conversation- jumping from one story to the next without taking a breath.
The content is interesting but poorly defined or explained and in the end i rushed to finish it just so it was done with.
Would not recommend
As mentioned above, this reads like a conversation- jumping from one story to the next without taking a breath.
The content is interesting but poorly defined or explained and in the end i rushed to finish it just so it was done with.
Would not recommend
July 13, 2017
An interesting little essay, but no citations makes it harder to totally accept.
I love Maitland and her work so I trust her more than some random person, but footnotes or even just a list of references at the end would have increased my rating by a star.
I love Maitland and her work so I trust her more than some random person, but footnotes or even just a list of references at the end would have increased my rating by a star.
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