Hugh Stokes (1875–1932)

For some time now I’ve been fascinated by the Marquise de Brinvilliers and her life as a poisoner. I’m pleased to say that despite this bio being published in 1912, it’s better than many modern history books I’ve read.

With it having “and Her Times” tagged on to my point of interest, I feared it’d be another one of those biographies with little info available on its main topic, so it uses masses of filler material. This is *not* the case.

The parts that focus on the Marquise’s times help to visualise her world. No filler material, then, but rather quality info.

But it’s the Marquise’s story that makes this book shine. I learned a lot more about her than I knew previously. A few myths were also debunked.

The author used translations of the Marquise’s trial and of writing by the priest (Abbé Pirot) with whom she spent her last days in discussion with.

My criticisms are few, and one I’ll forgive because of when the book was written, namely the author’s use of the passive voice. Passive voice equals passive prose, but luckily his subject matter is so fascinating that it doesn’t seem too bad.

The one element I hate is this type of thing:

"O nuit desastreuse, o nuit effroyable ou retentit tout a coup, comme un eclat de tonnerre, cette etonnante nouvelle: Madame se meurt, Madame est morte ! . . . Madame a passe 1 du matin au soir ainsi que 1'herbe de champs. Le matin elle fleurrissait, avec quelle grace, vous le savez: le soir nous la vimes sechee. . . . Quelle diligence! en neuf heures, 1'ouvrage est accompli."

I haven’t a clue what the above means, and I wasn’t going to break off from reading to go onto Google Translate (which isn’t always accurate anyway). I’m pro-language-learning, but an English language book should be written only in English. If another tongue must be used, provide a translation. It’s pure arrogance on the author’s part to leave the reader in the dark.

The above gripe apart, this is a great biography of the infamous Marquise.

She comes across as a cunning and clever woman, yet at the same time slightly unhinged.… (plus d'informations)