Trial of Gilles De Rais

by Georges Bataille, Richard Robinson

The true story of the trial of Gilles De Rais, French nobleman of the Middle Ages who was tried for the heinous murders of children and the practice of the Black Arts.

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

322 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1959

About the author

French essayist, philosophical theorist, and novelist, often called the "metaphysician of evil." Bataille was interested in sex, death, degradation, and the power and potential of the obscene. He rejected traditional literature and considered that the ultimate aim of all intellectual, artistic, or religious activity should be the annihilation of the rational individual in a violent, transcendental act of communion. Roland Barthes, Julia Kristeva, and Philippe Sollers have all written enthusiastically about his work.