Bluebeard: The Life and Times of Gilles De Rais

Rating:
Summary: Highly readable bio of one of history's worst criminals.
Review: Gilles de Rais is probably an unfamiliar name to most, but he was a lieutenant of Joan of Arc's. They fought closely together but after she was executed, well, he became one of history's first serial murderers. He killed up to 200 children in horrible ways--Dahmer and Bundy have nothing on Gilles de Rais. Wolf writes very well, and tries to understand the psychology of such a character. De Rais was contradictory--murder for him was a way to reach God, or the Devil, or something divine and not of this world. Wolf is an expert on horror & Gothic lit. Well-researched & more readable than others on de Rais. If you're one of those people who think movie & tv violence instigate horrible acts, just remember Gilles de Rais. He wasn't wasn't watching no Oliver Stone movie, that's for sure.