- Paperback: 352 pages
- Publisher: W&N; illustrated edition edition (11 Sep 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0297842161
- ISBN-13: 978-0297842163
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 16.6 x 3.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 272,297 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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'The Affair of the Poisons is a beautifully researched account of this extraordinary case...With her customary intelligence and lucidity, Anne Somerset meticulously unravels this complex, fascinating affair and presents an informed opinion on what really happened.' (Lucy Moore BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE (November) )
Book Description
A narrative historical true crimes page-turner
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
33 of 33 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
By means of focusing on a particular series of incidents, known as the Affair of the Poisons, Anne Somerset has written one of the most penetrating studies of Louis XIV ever published. The wave of hysteria and scandal which broke over the court of Versailles in 1677 starred a Rogues' Gallery of Poisoners, Blackmailers, Devil-Worshippers, Witches, Torturers and Cruel Inquisitors which makes the events portrayed in the Witches of Salem seem like an episode from a tea-party. The most fascinating thread in this history as written by Anne Somerset is the insight which the author gives us into the character and methods of Louis XIV. She describes and lays bare the mixture of superstitious vacillation and guilt-ridden indecision with which Louis dealt with an affair which implicated those closest to him in affection and family. This not the usual bland picture of the Sun King's magnificence, unerring powers of judgement and political genius. When we consider that Somerset's portrait of the King, although admittedly in cameo form, is competing with the works of Saint Simon, Madame De Sevigne, Voltaire and more recently, Nancy Mitford - among many others - this book is a very considerable triumph of scholarship and historical writing. As a bonus, The Affair of the Poisons is full of the highly enjoyable blend of sly wit and analytical clarity with which Anne Somerset has made her reputation as a scholar and historian - and it has the hallucinatory cinematic quality of Patrick Suskind's great novel, Perfume.
The Affair Of The Poisons is the rarest of historical works: one which reads like a compulsively page-turning thriller; and yet is the product of painstaking and unique research from original sources. Truth has never been more clearly shown to be stranger than fiction, than in this powerful book.
The Affair Of The Poisons is the rarest of historical works: one which reads like a compulsively page-turning thriller; and yet is the product of painstaking and unique research from original sources. Truth has never been more clearly shown to be stranger than fiction, than in this powerful book.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
King Louis XIV's court was the most glamorous and powerful in Europe at the time, so it's easy to imagine the shock-waves that were generated when several of its core members were accused of poisoning, child sacrifice and devil-worship (David Icke would have been in his element!). At the core of the story are La Voisin, a thoroughly unscrupulous woman who plied her trade as a fake fortune-teller and backstreet abortionist, and her one-time lover, Lesage, who was a sort of predecessor of Aleister Crowley, in that he convinced many people he was a genuine magician, and in spite of his less-than-handsome appearance, had enough charisma to seduce plenty of ladies.
When this unwholeseome twosome were brought into police custody on suspicion of supplying poisons to members of the Parisian elite, they hit upon the idea of delaying their inevitable torture and execution by supplying the police with ever-increasing tales of murder and attempted murder amongst the very highest echelons of society. A sort of grotesque version of the "Arabian Nights". Eventually they implicated Madame de Montespan, a long-time mistress of the King, who had borne him no less than 7 children during her "career", but who was now past her prime, out of favour, and desperate to get back in it. She was accused of taking part in Satanic rituals in order to restore her standing at court.
All this was aided by the chief of police, who was rather too diligent in his rooting out of scandal. Eventually the situation became quite farcical, with the entire population of Paris seemingly conniving to poison each other! (I couldn't help being reminded of the Satanic Abuse scandals at the beginning of the 1990s). Anne Somerset has done exhaustive research on her subject, and never for a moment lets the sensational stories cloud her judgement. The cast of characters is huge and sometimes very confusing, but she makes a highly complicated story easy to digest. It's certainly intersting to see another side to the glittering reign of the Sun King.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Enjoyed this book immensely - so much so I ordered another copy as a gift.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Fascinating and repelling at the same time
A deeply researched and lucidly argued work about major scandal at the court of Louis XIV. The only minor niggles I have with this book are Somerset's use of the word... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Mrs Miniver
Fast and efficient
This book was not easy to find, so I was delighted when these people kindly found it for me and delivered it so promptly and in very good condition to me.
Published on 23 Aug 2009 by bookworm
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