Books Set in Europe: Paris France

City of Light, City of Poison: Murder Magic, and the First Police Chief of Paris, by Holly Tucker (2017)

 

This book is a fascinating look of life in Paris the reign of Louis XIV, King of France.  The book opens in in 1665 with the murder of the city’s criminal lieutenant.  He had been stabbed to death in his home by burglars. Shortly thereafter, one of his colleagues was poisoned.  Nicholas de La Reynie was then appointed to clean up the streets of Paris – quite literally.  Paris, during this period, was quite filthy.  Streets were littered with garbage and the contents of chamber pots.  The dark streets were a haven for thieves.  La Reynie installed gaslights to illuminate the streets at night.  Homeowner were mandated to keep the lights burning at night. That was just one of the reforms brought about by La Reynie.

 

As La Reynie continued to stop criminal activities, he uncovered a series of crimes that involved members of France’s nobility.  No one was safe from these mysterious criminal activities and black magic, not even the King himself.  La Reynie uncovered nobles employing witches to cast spells and create poisons to destroy their enemies.  Priests were in the clutches of dark rituals.  Some of the practices and crimes La Reynie found had direct ties to the King.

 

This is a fascinating window into the history of France and the city of Paris in the late 1600s

 

Read:  December 2022

 

4 Stars