Books Tell You Why, Inc.

A Fine first Edition/First Printing in an alike dust-jacket that is slightly shelfworn.


Wolf's exhaustive biography of Gilles De Rais, one of history's most notorious serial killers, is a definitive account of one of the most heinous crimes in French history. De Rais, a Spanish nobleman turned mercenary soldier, joined the French army in 1567 and quickly rose through the ranks. In 1572, he married the daughter of the governor of Brittany, where he began amassing a large fortune by pillaging the region. In 1585, De Rais was appointed the governor of the province of La Rochelle, a prestigious post that allowed him to indulge his murderous desires unchecked. Over the next few years, he murdered dozens of people, including his own wife and son, in what has been described as the "Rais murders." In 1610, De Rais was arrested for the murder of a young girl and was quickly convicted and executed. Wolf's biography is a fascinating exploration of one of history's most heinous crimes and the man behind it, making; 8vo; 259 pages.