History Literature / CountAndCountess

A HistoricalFiction novel by Creator/RoseChristo.

* TheWomanWearingTheQueenlyMask: Elizabeth.
--> ''And sometimes in thinking of you I feel myself a young girl again, another illusion of mine, and I am suddenly breathless and small. In truth, I feel that I am always that small girl, except that I am trapped constantly in a cage outwardly made of stone, and the cage is the way in which I present myself to the world that surrounds me. I can have no weakness lest it be exploited.''

* AdultFear: [[spoiler: When Elizabeth seizes up and causes her daughter's death.]]

* {{Asexuality}}: Implied with Vlad. When his adviser tries to hook him up with a wife, he retaliates by ''killing'' her, then [[CrossesTheLineTwice putting her body on display in his welcoming chamber]]. His interest in Elizabeth never approaches sexual territory, as he states early on that he likes her so much because she's his intellectual equal.

A HistoricalFiction novel by RoseChristo.

A HistoricalFiction novel by Rose Christo.

* AdultFear: When [[spoiler: Elizabeth seizes up and causes her daughter's death]]

* {{Asexuality}}: Implied with Vlad. When his adviser tries to hook him up with a wife, he retaliates by ''killing'' her, then [[CrossesTheLineTwice putting her body on display in his welcoming chamber]]. His interest in Elizabeth never approaches sexual territory, in fact he states early on that he likes her so much because she's his intellectual equal.
* AssholeVictim: Was anyone really all that upset when [[spoiler: Elizabeth kills her rapist]]?

----

* BastardBastard: Implied with Vlad.

* BrokenBird: Elizabeth.

* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Elizabeth as a child.
* ColdBloodedTorture: Both Vlad and Elizabeth.

* DeadpanSnarker: Elizabeth.

* EliteArmy: The Black Forces of Hungary.

* GothicHorror

* MamaBear: Elizabeth toward Orsolya.

* MeanwhileInTheFuture

* MoralMyopia
* MurderIsTheBestSolution

* PsychopathicManchild: Vlad.
* RapeAsDrama: Arguably shakes Elizabeth's entire worldview.

* SympatheticMurderer: Elizabeth, but barely.

* TheDogBitesBack: Elizabeth to both Ferencz and Johannes.
* TheIngenue: Young Elizabeth.

* TimeTravelRomance

* TroublingUnchildhoodBehavior

* WickedCultured: Vlad.

* WouldNotShootACivilian / WouldntHitAGirl: Averted, frequently and vigorously.
* YouAlreadyChangedThePast
* YouAreWorthHell

** Borderline personality disorder is the ''least'' of his problems. He also seems to suffer from histrionic personality disorder, schizoid personality disorder, and mild schizophrenia. And, of course, [[CaptainObvious he is a psychopath.]] Why does Elizabeth love him, again? Oh, right, because she's just as nuts...

* {{Feminism}}: Both played straight and subverted. Vlad initially seems like a feminist, much to the surprise of the reader. His fondness for Elizabeth leads to a lengthy section in which he writes to her about the civilizations of old in which men and women were equal citizens. He later reveals himself to be a complete hypocrite, even impaling a woman his advisor tries to get him to marry, just because "She's not Elizabeth!"
** Surprisingly, Elizabeth herself is an ''actual'' feminist, to the distaste of the rest of her family. She tries (and in some cases, succeeds) to write several laws raising women's place in society. That she [[BloodBath bathes in her servant girls' blood]] is more of an act of desperation, coupled with a sense of entitlement bred by her high standing in life.

* FlatEarthAtheist: Elizabeth very staunchly denies the existence of a God, even though she cannot explain how her letters are reaching Vlad.