The Marchioness of Brinvilliers, the poisoner of the seventeenth century : $b A romance of old Paris

In the bustling spring of 1665, Paris teems with life along the banks of the Seine, where a travelling mountebank stages dazzling tricks before a crowd gathered at the foot of the Grand Châtelet. The city’s narrow streets, the wooden bridges and the shadowy catacombs provide a vivid backdrop for a tale that blends history with intrigue. Amid the revelry, whispers circulate about a noblewoman whose beauty and ambition mask a darker fascination with poisons.

Louise Gauthier, a sharp‑witted young woman, finds herself drawn into the dangerous world of the Marchioness of Brinvilliers, a figure whose seductive charm conceals a lethal talent for manipulation. As doctors, apothecaries and rival conspirators clash, the reader is led through smoky taverns, secret laboratories and the looming walls of the Bastille. The early chapters set a tense stage where loyalty is tested, secrets simmer, and the first steps of a deadly game begin to unfold.