This is George Bernard Shaw's description of Gilles de Rais in 'Saint Joan.' Thereafter he is indicated in the script as Bluebeard. Shaw was right about Gilles' fundamental unhappiness, but he never had a blue beard and was never known in his own time by that name. Shaw was following a long tradition. Gilles had become Bluebeard by the time Perrault came to write his elegant Fairy Tales in the 17th century. There he could be found side by side with Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood. In real life, Gilles had more in common with the Marquis de Sade. Born in 1404, Gilles de Rais became by inheritance on of the richest nobles in France. He accumulated glory: the foremost champion of Joan of Arc, he was made a Marshal of France at 25. Then, following her death, a shadow fell over his life: his name became linked with 140 to 200 highly organized, premeditated and monstrous sex crimes, his extravagance exceeded all bounds, and as his fortune declined he turned to black magic and alchemy. He was hanged and burned for his crimes in 1440.

Gilles de Rais: A Biography of Bluebeard

Benedetti, Jean

Stein and Day, NY

In 1457, Lady Margaret Beaufort gave birth to a son, and the House of Tudor rejoiced. The bards had foretold that a son of the house of Owen Tudor would one day wear the crown of England; perhaps this newborne Welshman, Henry, would fulfill the prophecy. This is a novel based on the early life of Henry Tudor Earl of Richmond, later King Henry VII of England, from 1457 to 1486: Henry Tudor is the hero of this historical pageant, but the background is as rich and fascinating as his own story. Here is the tale of an adventurer who grasped his opportunity, of an outsider who found his way home. It is a medieval romance, containing one of the most charming princesses who ever graced the throne of England. Above all it is a tale of ordinary people, caught up in great events, living in the 15th century - a time when even nobles harboured three different kinds of body lice, and stonemasons with clumsy tools could raise a cathedral to heaven. Jean Stubbs has recreated the textures, the excitement and the drama and invites the reader into colorful, tumultuous Wales of the fifteenth century.

An Unknown Welshman: A Historical Novel

History

jean-stubbs

Europe

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Books by Stein and Day, NY

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the Stein and Day, NY publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Gilles de Rais: A Biography of Bluebeard

An Unknown Welshman: A Historical Novel