Book Reviews
“On the heels of The Poitiers Affair, this second novel by Viviane Janouin-Benanti traces the lives of a 19th-century couple made famous by the sheer force of circumstance.
Viviane Janouin-Benanti’s novel is a joy to read. Every page is brimming with historical anecdotes, allowing the reader to be immersed in these colorful lives. Her quest for true facts, combined with clear and precise writing, invite you to immerse yourself in the book without a second thought.
This historical novel reveals a slice of 19th-century French history through the intertwined destinies of the main characters. The illustrations included at the end of the book give even greater depth to the stories of these extraordinary lives.”
L'Écho des livres, July 26, 2002
“Born in Egypt, Enrico Pranzini, known as Henri Pranzini, spoke many languages. He served in the army and traveled all over the world. He was an adventurer whose passion for gambling soon led him into petty crime. Over the years, he robbed each of his employers, swindled various people, and lived off women.
Marie Régnault, originally from Chalon, had fled the countryside in the hope of making a name for herself in Paris…”
Delphine Cingal - Lycos, 2003
Viviane Janouin-Benanti begins far from Paris: in Alexandria, where the boy Enrico—soon to rename himself Henri—learns languages and ambition from Selim, an octogenarian guide who once served under Napoleon and stayed in Egypt to build a tourism agency. The early chapters are bright with detail: bustling Sherif Pasha Street; the Nabi Daniel Mosque; Adhoura, a seafood joint where mint tea follows calamari fritters; and a kite hawk hanging in the thermals over the baths while Selim and the boy talk about Mamluks, freedom, and fortunes. The scenes are tactile enough to taste the salt on the plates and on the air.
Viviane Janouin-Benanti then sets young Henri against capital-H History. He watches the inauguration of the Suez Canal—caravans of crowned heads, orchestras, fireworks—and decides that staying put will never be enough; languages and charm will be his passage. The book is as interested in why he wants to belong as in how he gets in. It’s a savvy choice: the social story becomes the psychological one.
The Infamous Dandy is that rare true-crime narrative that refuses to flatten its subjects into monsters and martyrs. Viviane Janouin-Benanti gives us a seducer who could play Chopin and play people; a courtesan who could command a room and still be fatally vulnerable; an ordinary woman whose truth-telling costs her the only man she loved; a teenage girl whose prayer life intersects with a Paris execution at five in the morning.
The marina books lovers
“The story takes place in the 19th century. Henri Pranzini was born in Alexandria, Egypt. An adventurer and soldier, he joined the British Indian Army and fought alongside them in the Sudan. He also witnessed the creation of the Suez Canal. A brilliant man and a gambler, this heartbreaker, after many female conquests, met Régine de Montille, a rich and famous courtesan.
As their affair progressed, this manipulative man, though not destined to kill, put his plan into action.
His trial was one of the most important of the 19th century. It remains, along with the story of a certain Alfred Dreyfus, one of the most misunderstood crimes in history.”
L’Écho de la Presqu’île, June 14, 2002
This is the true story of the incredible lives of Henri Pranzini
and Marie Regnault, also known as Régine de Montille…
Régine de Montille was involved in some of the greatest moments in 19th-century French history.
During the reign of Napoléon III, she enthusiastically joined the cause of the Républicains who rallied against the empire at the burial of Victor Noir, a journalist killed by the emperor’s cousin. She fought against the royalist Versailles government and took part in the radical Paris Commune. When Issy-les-Moulineaux was bombarded, she took care of the wounded. During a brief stay in Bavaria, she dreamed of a romance with King Ludwig II. Famous men of the era were infatuated with her, but it all ended when she fell in love with Pranzini.
At the time of a stay in Bavaria, she will dream to be loved
by king Louis II. Famous men will become infatuated with her,
until she falls in love with Pranzini.
Henri Pranzini was born in Alexandria, Egypt. An exotic seducer with languorous eyes and a brilliant mind, he knew eight languages. He attended the inauguration of Suez Canal. An adventurer and soldier, he joined the British Army of India and fought in Afghanistan. For a time, he offered his services to the Russians, but then went to fight with the British in Sudan.
A man of action, a wheeler and dealer, an avid gambler, Pranzini crisscrossed continents always on the lookout for his next big score. This so-called “splendid darling” was also quite the lady’s man, breaking hearts right and left, until he went to Paris and met the rich and famous Régine de Montille.
This is when the murderer and the victim crossed paths, leading to an incredible criminal trial.
This heart-racing narrative, written in vivid prose, is a true thriller. The book culminates with a stunning account of the courtroom trial and its shocking conclusion.
St. Thérèse of Lisieux prayed for the salvation of Pranzini. The fulfillment of her prayers had a great influence on her faith and commitment. St. Thérèse said of Pranzini that he was her first child.
CDL 85, 2002
