Little Demon in The City of Light

Paris was an exciting place in 1889. The new Eiffel Tower was a visible reminder that the city itself was one of the marvels of the modern world. Science and culture thrived in the new and fragile Third Republic. The scientific community was exploring new and fascinating fields. Among these fields was the new fad of hypnotism. In France two main schools of thought struggled for dominance. One of the main points of contention concerned the amount of free will that the subject under hypnosis retained. The Paris school argued that subjects under hypnosis could not be compelled to act against their own moral code. The rival school in Nancy claimed that subjects had no free will at all. This academic debate would soon be put to the test in a sensational murder trial.

Gabrielle Bompard was a young, free spirited girl who came to Paris to escape her father and step-mother. She soon became the mistress of Michel Eyraud. Eyraud was a shady business man who spent most of his time cheating people out of their money. Together with Gabrielle he murdered an acquaintance of his. After disposing of the body they fled to America. The police case for the missing friend ended up in the hands of Surete chief Marie-Francios Goron. Goron was able to discover the identity of the murdered man’s body, and was eventually able to connect the murder to Eyraud and Bompard.

Bompard fled Eyraud in America and returned to France. She claimed that she was not guilty of any crime because she had be forced under hypnosis to help in the murder. Eyraud was captured in Cuba and returned to France. The case would fascinate the Parisians and would be the first time that hypnosis was used as a murder defense.

The Little Demon In The City of Light is a fascinating book. The story itself almost seems like a convoluted murder mystery. Steven Levingston keeps this true story of crime moving along at a wonderful pace. The dogged Goron chasing down every clue, refusing to be stopped by inept police work in other parts of France. The shifty, murderous Eyraud with his manipulations. Most of all there is the character of Bompard. The young woman was an enigma. Was she a clever seductress, the “LIttle Demon?” Was she a simple minded victim of the stronger Eyraud? Like all real history the truth is often unknowable. We have to decide for ourselves about this young woman.

This is a fascinating story and deserves to be known. Levingston is an excellent writer and really brings this story to life. If you like history, true crime, or mystery novels, do yourself a favor and get this book.

Blood Royal by Eric Jager

It was a cold November night in 1407. In Paris, the Duke of Orleans, younger brother of the King and the regent of France, was returning to his lodgings after dining with the queen. He was suddenly attacked by a group of armed men. They pulled him from his horse and hacked him to death. The group of armed, masked men then made their way through the streets terrifying any one who dared to look out of the doors or windows. Then simply vanished. The subsequent investigation and discovery of the person responsible for this action would affect the next twenty-five years of French history.

Louis of Orleans was an unpopular figure. His brother, Charles VI, suffered from recurring bouts of madness. Louis had been appointed regent to act when Charles was indisposed. Louis used his position to raid the national treasury for his own gain. He was a notorious womanizer who routinely seduced the wives of other nobles. He was also in a type of cold war with his cousin John, the Duke of Burgundy.

 In charge of the investigation of the murder was Guillaume de Tignonville, the provost of Paris. de Tignonville soon discovered the culprit. The man who ordered the assassination was none other than his cousin, the Duke of Burgundy. This revelation would plunge France into civil unrest for the next twenty five years. Henry V of England would use this unrest to invade France. The Burgundians would help the English in the war against the French crown.

This is a fascinating story about a turbulent time in French history. Jager does an excellent job of piecing this story together. The French aristocracy, particularly the royal line, comes across as one big dysfunctional mess. It’s the kind of story one would expect to see on an HBO original series. Illicit affairs, madness, opulent balls, murder, and mayhem. Against this story of the highborn Jager deftly weaves the stories of those less know to history. He gives us the story of the honest de Tignonville. A man whose integrity worked against him in the end. Readers of Shakespeare will recognize this figure and recall that he recaptured his honor by dying at the Battle of Agincourt.

We also get a glimpse of the justice system of medieval France. The public gibbets, the ways in which nobles and the clergy could escape justice. We also see the lives of normal Parisians. The beginning of the book gives us a glimpse into the lives of the men and women who lived and worked in the area where the assassination occurred. Dr. Jager’s writing is quite good. As a professor of literature at UCLA he is very knowledgeable about the period. He never falls into the trap that catches so many professional historians. He doesn’t beat the audience to death with obscure information and theories that add nothing to the narrative and only serve to impress the writer and other academics. This book is very scholarly and the material is well sourced. It is also well written and enjoyable to read.

I can highly recommend this book to lovers of history and to anyone who loves a good crime drama as well. 

The Murder Room by Michael Capuzzo

This is one of the most engaging books I have read on crime in a long time. Capuzzo tells the origins and history of the Vidocq Society, a group of forensic experts who gather together once a month in Philadelphia to hear cold cases. These men and women work pro bono and have solved numerous crimes. The book focuses on the three founding members of the society: US Customs Agent William Fleisher, pre-eminent psychologist and profiler Richard Walter, and the brilliant forensic artist Frank Bender. These men have solved some of the most heinous crimes of the last 50 years.

The topic of the book is fascinating and the true life characters are very intriguing. Perhaps at times too intriguing. Capuzzo, an excellent writer, tends to rabbit trail a little too much and inserts a lot of material that makes the flow of the story choppy and hard to follow at times. Don't let that dissuade you from reading this book. I will give you one warning: this is not for the faint of hear. You have to understand that these men track down psychopaths. Some of the material is brutal. Capuzzo never revels in the horror, but he does describe it. If you want to believe that there are no bad people out there then avoid this book. You will encounter evil.


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