Audiobook2 hours
Marquise de Brinvilliers: Celebrated Crimes, Book 16
Written by Alexandre Dumas
Narrated by Robert Bethune
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
5/5
()
About this audiobook
To paraphrase the note from the translator, The Celebrated Crimes of Alexandre Dumas père was not written for children. The novelist has spared no language—has minced no words—to describe violent scenes of violent times.
In this, the sixteenth of the series, Dumas, the novelist-historian, brings his story-telling skills to a subject no less than infamous at the time and which still holds a fascination for us: Marie-Madeleine-Marguerite d'Aubray, Marquise de Brinvilliers.
The Marquise was tried, convicted, and executed for poisoning her father and two of her brothers. It appears that she learned the art of the poisoner from her lover, Godin de Sainte-Croix. She also targeted, but did not kill, her sister, a Carmelite nun. Her case launched what is known in French history as the Affair of the Poisons, a long-running judicial scandal which led to the execution or imprisonment of dozens of people, many of the highest rank in French society, including prominent members of the court of Louis XIV.
Although Duma's book on Brinvilliers has been dismissed as mere historical fiction, in reality it is solidly based on the documents of the time and on prior historical treatments of the case. Shocking as it is to suppose, this beautiful and cultured Frenchwoman was indeed a formidable murderess.
Of course, Dumas, the dramatist and novelist, cannot help embellishing the work of Dumas, the historian. It becomes clear that his true interest lies not in the events, but in the character of Brinvilliers herself, as she confronts the rapidly approaching fact of her own torture and execution. Approximately half the book is devoted to the conversations between the Marquise and Edmond Pirot, a theologian of the Sorbonne, who acted as her chaplain and confessor during the last days of her life. The give-and-take between them is an interesting dramatization of the workings of conscience and remorse.
Dumas may have collaborated on this, as he frequently did in his works, with other writers. Nevertheless, it is clearly Dumas who has the final say on this work, as with all the other works in this series.
Enjoy!
In this, the sixteenth of the series, Dumas, the novelist-historian, brings his story-telling skills to a subject no less than infamous at the time and which still holds a fascination for us: Marie-Madeleine-Marguerite d'Aubray, Marquise de Brinvilliers.
The Marquise was tried, convicted, and executed for poisoning her father and two of her brothers. It appears that she learned the art of the poisoner from her lover, Godin de Sainte-Croix. She also targeted, but did not kill, her sister, a Carmelite nun. Her case launched what is known in French history as the Affair of the Poisons, a long-running judicial scandal which led to the execution or imprisonment of dozens of people, many of the highest rank in French society, including prominent members of the court of Louis XIV.
Although Duma's book on Brinvilliers has been dismissed as mere historical fiction, in reality it is solidly based on the documents of the time and on prior historical treatments of the case. Shocking as it is to suppose, this beautiful and cultured Frenchwoman was indeed a formidable murderess.
Of course, Dumas, the dramatist and novelist, cannot help embellishing the work of Dumas, the historian. It becomes clear that his true interest lies not in the events, but in the character of Brinvilliers herself, as she confronts the rapidly approaching fact of her own torture and execution. Approximately half the book is devoted to the conversations between the Marquise and Edmond Pirot, a theologian of the Sorbonne, who acted as her chaplain and confessor during the last days of her life. The give-and-take between them is an interesting dramatization of the workings of conscience and remorse.
Dumas may have collaborated on this, as he frequently did in his works, with other writers. Nevertheless, it is clearly Dumas who has the final say on this work, as with all the other works in this series.
Enjoy!
Author
Alexandre Dumas
Frequently imitated but rarely surpassed, Dumas is one of the best known French writers and a master of ripping yarns full of fearless heroes, poisonous ladies and swashbuckling adventurers. his other novels include The Three Musketeers and The Man in the Iron Mask, which have sold millions of copies and been made into countless TV and film adaptions.
More audiobooks from Alexandre Dumas
Camille: The Lady of the Camellias Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5B. J. Harrison Reads The Count of Monte Cristo Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Three Musketeers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Count of Monte Cristo Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5The Count of Montecristo Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Count of Monte Cristo Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to Marquise de Brinvilliers
Titles in the series (17)
Joan of Naples: Celebrated Crimes, book 10 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Man in the Iron Mask: Celebrated Crimes, book 11 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ali Pasha: Celebrated Crimes book 13 Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Martin Guerre: Celebrated Crimes, book 12 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Countess of Saint-Geran: Celebrated Crimes, book 14 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Murat: Celebrated Crimes, book 15 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Antonin Derues: Celebrated Crimes, book 8 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Vaninka: Celebrated Crimes, Book 17 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Marquise de Brinvilliers: Celebrated Crimes, Book 16 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Karl-Ludwig Sand: Celebrated Crimes, Book 5 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Marquise de Ganges: Celebrated Crimes, Book 18 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Borgias: Celebrated Crimes, Book 1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Massacres of the South: Celebrated Crimes, Book 3 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUrbain Grandier: Celebrated Crimes, Book 6 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nisida: Celebrated Crimes, Book 7 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mary Stuart: Celebrated Crimes: Book 4 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Cenci: Celebrated Crimes, Book 2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related audiobooks
Vaninka: Celebrated Crimes, Book 17 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Countess of Saint-Geran: Celebrated Crimes, book 14 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ali Pasha: Celebrated Crimes book 13 Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Joan of Naples: Celebrated Crimes, book 10 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Murat: Celebrated Crimes, book 15 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Man in the Iron Mask: Celebrated Crimes, book 11 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Marquise de Ganges: Celebrated Crimes, Book 18 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Martin Guerre: Celebrated Crimes, book 12 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mary Stuart: Celebrated Crimes: Book 4 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Urbain Grandier: Celebrated Crimes, Book 6 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Borgias: Celebrated Crimes, Book 1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Cenci: Celebrated Crimes, Book 2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Red and the Black, Volume I Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCelebrated Crimes, Vol. 1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Girl with the Golden Eyes Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5The Man in the Iron Mask: The True Story of Europe's Most Famous Prisoner Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Massacres of the South: Celebrated Crimes, Book 3 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Hurly Burly and Other Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCousin Bette Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Red and the Black, Volume II Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMarguerite de Valois Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Louise de la Valliere Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSea Lady Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Christmas Books Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Devoted Friend: Classic Tales Edition Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Wonderful Visit Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wicked Captain Walshawe Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Relics of General Chassé Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Sarrasine Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
European History For You
The Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ten Caesars: Roman Emperors from Augustus to Constantine Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Invention of Murder: How the Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Women in White Coats: How the First Women Doctors Changed the World of Medicine Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Over My Dead Body: Unearthing the Hidden History of American Cemeteries Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Royal Art of Poison: Filthy Palaces, Fatal Cosmetics, Deadly Medicine, and Murder Most Foul Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Killing England: The Brutal Struggle for American Independence Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Diana: Her True Story in Her Own Words Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Reformation: A History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Chernobyl 01:23:40: The Incredible True Story of the World's Worst Nuclear Disaster Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Memoirs of a Wartime Interpreter: From the Battle for Moscow to Hitler's Bunker Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Wars of the Roses: The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Napoleon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Short Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Faithful Executioner: Life and Death, Honor and Shame in the Turbulent Sixteenth Century Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The War on the West Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel: Genius, Power, and Deception on the Eve of World War I Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Anglo-Saxons: A History of the Beginnings of England: 400 – 1066 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Teutonic Knights: A Military History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: with Pearl and Sir Orfeo Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Professor and The Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Templars: The History and the Myth: From Solomon's Temple to the Freemasons Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Iron, Fire and Ice: The Real History that Inspired Game of Thrones Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ghost Map Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Our Hideous Progeny: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sovietistan: Travels in Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Marquise de Brinvilliers
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
5/5
2 ratings1 review
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Relates to the first part of the book "Affair of the Poison" by Anne Sommerset. I hope I spelled all that right...