Bluebeard: The Life and Crimes of Gilles de Rais

by Leonard Wolf

Relies on contemporary accounts of Bluebeard, scholarship since then, and a knowledge of human nature to depict the life and character of an infamous man who took pleasure in raping, torturing, murdering, and dismembering children

Genres: History, Biography, True Crime, France, Nonfiction, Crime, Medieval

259 pages, Hardcover

First published June 11, 1980

Reviews

[Aaron Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

How to start. Gilles de Rais had everything, absolutely everything going for him. Money, land, title, friends in high places, and companion to Joan of Arc. The man was definitely torn between God and the Devil, which we all are to some degree or another. The crimes he committed are unpardonable and for the church to bury him on holy ground and not burn him to ash like his accomplices is beyond my comprehension. The author does a good job in bringing together evidence and doesn't expand the evidence to fit any preconcieved notion of his. He does touch on the nature of the crimes by writing what was given as his testimony. Anybody after listening to his confession to the judges would probably be aghast and have every reason to hate this man intensely even though by this time in the book it is anti-climatic. All I can say is at least justice was served although I think he should of suffered much as the children he tormented did. One thing that sticks in my mind after reading this book was, was he truly repentant as he appeared at the end or was it a facade? I guess one will never know.

[Meaghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of the life and times of Gilles De Rais, a famous and obscenely wealthy French nobleman who achieved great honor as a warrior and fought alongside Joan of Arc...and was eventually put to death for kidnapping, raping, torturing and murdering scores of children, mainly the sons of local peasants.

Not all that much is known about this fifteenth-century figure (one of the earliest serial killers known to history), but Leonard Wolf does a respectable job fleshing out his life. He speculates some, but not too much, as to what made De Rais the way he was, and also includes the story of Joan of Arc. (In fact at times it seemed he wanted to write about her more than about De Rais.) A decent enough bio for those interested in historical serial killers.

[Edwina Book Anaconda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A warrior who fought alongside Joan of Arc had a nasty little secret … on the side he enjoyed kidnapping, raping, torturing and murdering little children.
And, he had help. A lot of help.
This is a very well researched and disturbing book.
Well worth the time to read it, if for no other reason, to learn the history of Joan of Arc.
That was the part that I found riveting.

[Jason · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up Bluebeard: The Life and Crimes of Gilles de Rais at my local library. I didn't expect much, considering how spotty records tend to be during the fifteenth century and the probable sensationalism inspired by a certifiable serial killer who happened to be fabulously wealthy. Early on, the book wastes time running though most of Jeanne D'arc's life as well, because Gilles and Jeanne knew each other; not really necessary--especially considering that most of de Rais' accomplices (who procured victims for him/assisted with the murders and following destruction of evidence!) get almost no background except for the Italian Prelati. The author also copied chunks from works of historical fiction concerning Jeanne and Gilles, which seemed like just a lazy way to fill space. Overall I'd probably recommend looking elsewhere for the information (He references G Bataille, M Bataille, and J Michelet frequently, they're all probably better sources).

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a really strange book. The author blatantly quotes fictional sources, acknowledging that they are fiction but then using them at face value. It's not really lit crit, and it's not really history either. For the most part the author seems to be speculating and creating rather than analyzing. And as prose goes, it's really purple. Very, very overwrought.

[TJL · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has a very bad case of

A) Having a metric fuckton of unnecessary filler and fluff, I didn't need Jeanne d'Arc's life story and it's apparent the author was padding out the book, and

B) the author merging fictional accounts and speculation regarding Gilles de Rais's crimes with the actual testimony and facts of the crimes.

I have a particular problem with the second part given that the author's position is effectively "de Rais is guilty and you're a fool to disagree" and this is a case with a lot of loose ends and sticky questions regarding evidence and de Rais's guilt.

[Sarah Rigg · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of the real historical serial killer of children from the 1400s who, in his youth, was the pious companion of Joan of Arc. Wolf tells you his own theories and opinions in the first person but he's also quite coy about de Rais' crimes until near the end of the book. It wasn't a bad read, but I do wonder if some of the books published on the subject since Wolf wrote this in 1980 might be more my speed.

[Rudolph · Rating 5 out of 5]

The tragic tale of a tragic man whose metamorphosis from a knight of god, into one of the most notorious serial killers in history. Among my favorite themes in books involving Gilles de Rais, is the involvement and his love for Jeanne d'Arc.

[Fraser Sherman · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book provides the basics of de Rais' strange career--Marshall of France, ally of Joan of Arc, child-murdering fiend--but suffers from Wolf writing as much as if this were literary criticism than history, and filling in way too many gaps with groundless speculation. I'm not sure there's a better source for de Rais' life, but there should be.