In a brilliant, original rendition, "Monsters of the Gevaudan"
revisits a spellbinding French tale that has captivated
imaginations for over two hundred years, and offers the definitive
explanation of the strange events that underlie this timeless
story.
In 1764 a peasant girl was killed and partially eaten while
tending a flock of sheep. Eventually, over a hundred victims fell
prey to a mysterious creature, or creatures, whose cunning and
deadly efficiency terrorized the region and mesmerized Europe. The
fearsome aggressor quickly took on mythic status, and the beast of
the Gevaudan passed into French folklore.
What species was this killer, why did it decapitate so many of
its victims, and why did it prefer the flesh of women and children?
Why did contemporaries assume that the beast was anything but a
wolf, or a pack of wolves, as authorities eventually claimed, and
why is the tale so often ignored in histories of the ancien regime?
Smith finds the answer to these last two questions in an accident
of timing. The beast was bound to be perceived as strange and
anomalous because its ravages coincided with the emergence of
modernity itself.
Expertly situated within the social, intellectual, cultural,
and political currents of French life in the 1760s, "Monsters of
the Gevaudan" will engage a wide range of readers with both its
recasting of the beast narrative and its compelling insights into
the allure of the monstrous in historical memory.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
(3)
