This true account of Marquise de Brinvilliers includes a lot of actual reports from the time of her arrest, torture, and execution. She’s one of the more fascinating lesser-known historical personages.

Alexandre Dumas presents this short account in the same way as the other volumes in the Celebrated Crimes series, in that at times it reads like a biography, while at other times it reads like historical fiction. The latter approach works best. It’s a shame he didn’t go for fictitious rendition, as at times the narrative rambles on too much and is not engaging. ( )