This tome features several accounts of convicted poisoners in seventeenth-century France, of which at that time not all the information presented here was then known.
It records the practice of sorcery, which featured the horror of new-born babies having their throats cut, as their blood was required for black arts. It's hard to believe that such things went on, but sadly they did.
I found these records interesting in some parts, but boring in others, so I skipped over much of the analytical passages and detailed court procedure.
The most interesting part for me is the section on Marie-Madeleine d’Aubray, Marquise de Brinvilliers. I’d never heard of Madame or her history prior to reading this book, and it sparked a fascination that grew over time and, seven years after reading this book, it led to me writing a novel about her in 2021 called “The Marquise of Darkness”.
So, while this isn’t the most enthralling biography I’ve ever read, I’m grateful to it for introducing me to Madame de Brinvilliers and her unique place in French history.
Marie-Madeleine d'Aubray, Madame la Marquise de Brinvilliers
King Louis XIV of France
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