Bloodshed, sex & [and] violence in pre-revolutionary France : early modern true crime

Book excerpt: A sourcebook of homicide, suicide, rape and prostitution cases from 18th century France, most from previously untranslated material. Sources include periodicals, police reports and contemporary true crime accounts. Within each subject, material - most of it from the period - is presented in approximate chronological order. Items include: HOMICIDE: The Regent's Relative-The Fatal Pardon-Pardoned, Restricted and Self-Exiled-The Murderer's Missed Pension-Appealing Tactics-The Priest's Awkward Dinner-The Mother And The Sculptor-The Naked Wife Killer-..... SUICIDE: Prison Suicides-The Ruined Father-In-Law-A Bad Novelist Escapes The Galleys-His Death Rather Than Her Dishonor-A Depressed Councilor and a Devoted Courtesan-.... RAPE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT: Forcible Rape (Viol)--Rapists Speak-Half Willingly- Casanova's "happy victim"-The Boast-A False Accusation-A Decent Girl Unnamed -The Breton Servant Girl-The Priest, The Child And The Parent... Rape by Abduction or Seduction (Rapt)... RAPT?: Sade and Rose Keller MIXED CHARGES: A Rival's Rape PROSTITUTION...