The Affair of the Poisons: Murder, Infanticide and Satanism at the Court of Louis XIV - Softcover

Somerset, Lady Anne

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0753817845 ISBN 13: 9780753817841

Verlag: Phoenix, 2004

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Reseña del editor:

The 'Affair of the Poisons' was a scandal at which 'all France trembled' and which 'horrified the whole of Europe' as it implicated a number of prominent persons at the court of King Louis XIV in the late 17th century.

Parisian society was seized by a fad for spiritualist séances, fortune- telling, and the use of love potions. The most celebrated case was that of La Voisin, a midwife and fortune-teller whose real name was Catherine Deshayes Monvoisin and whose clientele included the Marquise de Montespan, Olympe Mancini and Marshal Luxembourg. No formal charges were made, and there is no evidence that they were seriously implicated, yet a permanent stain was left on their names. La Voisin was burned as a poisoner and a sorceress in 1680. A special court was instituted to judge cases of poisoning and witchcraft, and the poison epidemic came to an end in France.This bizarre witchhunt, which embroiled the gilded denizens of Versailles with the most sordid dregs of Paris society, remains both a fascinating enigma and an utterly compelling story.

Biografía del autor:

Anne Somerset is the author of such best-sellers as Elizabeth I and Unnatural Murder. She read history at King's College, London, and for two years worked as a research assistant for historians such as Hugh Thomas, Antonia Fraser and Nigel Fisher. She is married with one daughter and lives in London.

Über diese Auflage

• Verlag: Phoenix
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0753817845
• ISBN 13: 9780753817841
• Einband: Tapa blanda
• Anzahl der Seiten: 400