Book Look: City of Light, City of Poison, by Holly Tucker

 A very well-crafted recounting of "The Affair of Poisons" - a period during Louis XIV's reign when over 400 people were imprisoned and over 30 executed for alleged involvement in poisoning, witchcraft, abortion, and fraud. Seriously, some of the tales recounted here are so shocking - gruesome murders, infant sacrifices, black masses, serial poisoners - that gothic novels pale in comparison. And who knew that arsenic could be administered so many different ingenious ways? (Hint: beware bouquets from loved ones, letters from strangers, and freshly laundered shirts!)

One forgets the extent to which witchcraft, in 17th century France, was still mainstream. People genuinely believed in the existence of love potions that would help them secure affection, that the ashes of the placentas of babies would cure all manner of diseases (including impotence), and that fortune-telling was a real thing. And if you had an inconvenient spouse or lover hanging about? An inheritance coming your way, but not quickly enough? There were people with "potions" that could help you with that too.

All of which might continue to have been tolerated, if only a growing investigation into a cabal of particularly nefarious poisoners/extortionists/"black magic" practitioners - conducted by Louis XIV's scrupulous new Chief of Police - hadn't turned up allegations that members of Louis XIV's own court - to include at least two of his mistresses - might be entangled in the web.

To be clear, this isn't some sensationalized retelling of an otherwise rather lame affair. Quite the contrary, Tucker takes pains to sticker *very* close to the source material - all events and conversations are drawn or paraphrased from actual documents - and there are extensive footnotes at the end for those interested in learning more. It's the historical events themselves that are sensational. (TIP: You might find it helpful to maintain an informal glossary to keep track of the cast of characters, as I did, because there are a lot of them; alas, real life is seldom as tidy as fiction.)

If anything, Tucker deliberately eschews drawing inferences that become increasingly obvious as the details unfold. She's right to point out that there's no way to be sure what actually happened, given the gaps in the records that have survived, the profound unreliability of the testimony of those who were questioned (especially those testimonies given under torture), and potential political machinations designed to muddle the truth.

However, she does loosen up a little in the Epilogue, acknowledging the preponderance of evidence suggesting that later phases of the investigation may have been tainted by the political and personal aspirations of one of Louis XIV's most powerful advisors. An apt reminder that politicians exploiting social hysteria to suit their own ends isn't a new phenomenon. But then, neither is human perfidy! Plenty of which is on wanton display in this thoroughly researched and entertaining read.