THE JUDGEMENT

Hardback. A book which re-creates a little-known scandal that had as big an impact on France in its time as the Dreyfus Affair of 1894. In 1835 the young, boisterous son of one of France's greatest generals was accused of raping the beautiful 16yr. old daughter of another top general. Both men were heads of the premier French families of their time, and were the very people whom high society looked up to: the father of the accused was revered for his bravery in the Napoleonic Wars and was the recipient of every honour possible; the father of the girl was similarly respected. The author's curiosity about the affair intensified when he discovered glaring inconsistencies in accounts of the case. Some sort of skulduggery had evidently run parallel to the mass of accusations and counter-accusations. His researches took him to the French law courts at the Palais de Justice in Paris, to Angers and to the cavalry town of Saumur. A portrayal of how two great families of the French establishment became locked in mortal combat. 223pp. 8vo. h/back. From the library of true-crime writer, Wilfred Gregg, with his personal b/plate. Lightly browned pp. Vg+ in Nr. f. dw. which has sunned sp.