Little demon in the city of light : a true story of murder and mesmerism in Belle Époque Paris /
Levingston, Steven.
Little demon in the city of light : a true story of murder and mesmerism in Belle Époque Paris / Steven Levingston. - First edition. - 333 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm
Includes bibliographical references (pages 325-333).
"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.""--
9780385536035 (hbk.) 0385536038 (hbk.)
2013020525
Gouffé, Augustin Toussaint, 1840-1889.
Eyraud, Michel, 1843-1891.
Bompard, Gabrielle, 1868-1920.
Murder--France--Paris--Case studies.
Paris (France)--Social life and customs--19th century.
TRUE CRIME / Murder / General.
HISTORY / Europe / France.
PSYCHOLOGY / Hypnotism.
HV6535.F8 / P364 2014
364.152/3092
Little demon in the city of light : a true story of murder and mesmerism in Belle Époque Paris / Steven Levingston. - First edition. - 333 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm
Includes bibliographical references (pages 325-333).
"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.""--
9780385536035 (hbk.) 0385536038 (hbk.)
2013020525
Gouffé, Augustin Toussaint, 1840-1889.
Eyraud, Michel, 1843-1891.
Bompard, Gabrielle, 1868-1920.
Murder--France--Paris--Case studies.
Paris (France)--Social life and customs--19th century.
TRUE CRIME / Murder / General.
HISTORY / Europe / France.
PSYCHOLOGY / Hypnotism.
HV6535.F8 / P364 2014
364.152/3092