Audiobook3 hours
Urbain Grandier: Celebrated Crimes, Book 6
Written by Alexandre Dumas
Narrated by Robert Bethune
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
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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 sixth of the series, Dumas tells the story of Urbain Grandier, a Catholic priest, little known to the English-speaking world, but famous among French speakers; he was the target of a religous and political conspiracy that began among his personal and political enemies in the town of Loudon and ended at the highest levels of political and religious power in the kingdom of France, with the direct involvement of Cardinal Richelieu and possibly of the king himself.
Grandier was handsome; Grandier was magnetic; Grandier was highly attractive to women. He was also arrogant, vindictive, and bitterly exacting of every jot and tittle of his rights. These qualities ran him foul of the religious and political bigwigs of the small, provincial town of Loudon. He made many enemies; they made up their minds to kill the man, and kill him they did.
They plotted to create the appearance of witchcraft on the loose by arranging for what would look like demonic possession among the nuns of the Ursuline convent at Loudon, so that they could pin a charge of witchcraft on Grandier. However, once they turned their wild horses loose, they had no choice but to ride them; what began as a personal vendetta turned into a devil's nightmare of a lurid witchhunt and trial.
Though Dumas clearly takes Grandier's part, he is quite objective about how Grandier, faced with a noose strung up by his enemies, could not restrain himself from putting his head into it and grinning. Dumas shows clearly how his enemies went to work with a will to do what has necessary from that point. In this volume, he is less then novelist than the historian, but he brings all the figures involved fully to life. He leaves us shaking our heads at the depths of murderous passion and barbarous cruelty hidden under the mask of religious fervor.
Enjoy!
In this, the sixth of the series, Dumas tells the story of Urbain Grandier, a Catholic priest, little known to the English-speaking world, but famous among French speakers; he was the target of a religous and political conspiracy that began among his personal and political enemies in the town of Loudon and ended at the highest levels of political and religious power in the kingdom of France, with the direct involvement of Cardinal Richelieu and possibly of the king himself.
Grandier was handsome; Grandier was magnetic; Grandier was highly attractive to women. He was also arrogant, vindictive, and bitterly exacting of every jot and tittle of his rights. These qualities ran him foul of the religious and political bigwigs of the small, provincial town of Loudon. He made many enemies; they made up their minds to kill the man, and kill him they did.
They plotted to create the appearance of witchcraft on the loose by arranging for what would look like demonic possession among the nuns of the Ursuline convent at Loudon, so that they could pin a charge of witchcraft on Grandier. However, once they turned their wild horses loose, they had no choice but to ride them; what began as a personal vendetta turned into a devil's nightmare of a lurid witchhunt and trial.
Though Dumas clearly takes Grandier's part, he is quite objective about how Grandier, faced with a noose strung up by his enemies, could not restrain himself from putting his head into it and grinning. Dumas shows clearly how his enemies went to work with a will to do what has necessary from that point. In this volume, he is less then novelist than the historian, but he brings all the figures involved fully to life. He leaves us shaking our heads at the depths of murderous passion and barbarous cruelty hidden under the mask of religious fervor.
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.
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Joan of Naples: Celebrated Crimes, book 10 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ali Pasha: Celebrated Crimes book 13 Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Murat: Celebrated Crimes, book 15 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Martin 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 stars4/5The Man in the Iron Mask: Celebrated Crimes, book 11 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Vaninka: Celebrated Crimes, Book 17 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Marquise de Brinvilliers: Celebrated Crimes, Book 16 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 stars5/5Antonin Derues: Celebrated Crimes, book 8 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 stars4/5Karl-Ludwig Sand: Celebrated Crimes, Book 5 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Nisida: Celebrated Crimes, Book 7 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Massacres of the South: Celebrated Crimes, Book 3 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Cenci: Celebrated Crimes, Book 2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
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