Edition |
First edition. |
Description |
333 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, portraits ; 25 cm |
Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages [309]-333). |
Summary |
"The thrilling-- and so wonderfully French-- story of a gruesome 1889 murder of a lascivious court official by a ruthless con man and his pliant mistress, an international manhunt, a sensational trial, and an inquiry into the limits of hypnotic power. In France at the end of the nineteenth century a great debate raged over the question of whether someone could be hypnotically compelled to commit a crime in violation of his or her moral convictions. When Alexandre-Toussaint Gouffe entered a Parisian building at 3 rue Tronson Ducoudray for what he thought would be a delightful assignation with the comely young Gabrielle Bompard, only to be murdered--hanged!--by her and her ruthless companion Michel Eyraud, stuffed in a trunk, and dumped on a riverbank near Lyon, that question became the burning center of an inquiry into the guilt or innocence of a woman the French tabloids dubbed "The Little Demon."-- Provided by publisher. |
Local Note |
ENFDNFIC |
Subject |
Murder -- France -- Paris -- Case studies.
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Gouffé, Augustin Toussaint, 1840-1889.
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Eyraud, Michel, 1843-1891.
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Bompard, Gabrielle, 1868-1920.
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Paris (France) -- Social life and customs -- 19th century.
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TRUE CRIME / Murder / General.
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HISTORY / Europe / France.
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PSYCHOLOGY / Hypnotism.
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ISBN |
9780385536035 hardback $26.95 |
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0385536038 hardback |
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