Take a gastronomic tour of France through 13 gripping true crime tales of infamous French poisoners and their victims. They poisoned with pastries, soups, cheeses, pies, teas, sandwiches, cakes, wines, and even fresh-baked crusty baguettes! With 365 cases of poisoning and 42 deaths to their names, from Paris to Marseille, Alsace to Bordeaux, to you’ll be astonished by the creative culinary techniques of these twisted criminals, most of whom were targeting family members, neighbors, or loved ones.
Who were these murderers? What warped human passions or unbearable circumstances led them to commit their crimes? How many of them got away with it? How many were sentenced to the guillotine? Author Serge Janouin-Benanti dives into the case files of 19th-century and early 20th-century France to answer these questions, drawing his readers into a time when scores were settled with the sprinkling of a little toxic white powder.
You’ll learn about a crime wave of poisonings in Marseille by women dissatisfied with their marital situations, a poisonous couple removing obstacles to their forbidden love, a superstitious barn builder with a devious daughter, a disgruntled bakery employee, a lascivious country priest, and a spate of husbands, wives, daughters, sons, in-laws, and others overtaken by jealousy, greed, or revenge. There will be some missed attempts, some shocking court trials, a lot of vomiting, and maybe even a moment or two where you hope the poisoner gets away with it. Each story is skillfully crafted, shining a light on a dark moment in French culinary history and giving a new meaning to the phrase “devilishly delicious.”
