Pierre Antoine Courouble presents here one of his most imaginative books. Starting with true facts, he leads the reader through a maze of a trial which reenacts the testimony of essential witnesses in the affair of the Beast of Gévaudan, which made headlines and justifiably terrified the population from 1764 to 1767 under the reign of Louis XV.
In 13 chapters, the work relates a trial in absentia of the Beast in which actors of the period intersect, like the bishop of Mende or the knight Antoine, along with forgotten personalities like the historian Alain Decaux or the psychiatrist Karl Gustav Jung as well as witnesses from today like the journalist Jean-Claude Bourret or the wolf specialist Daniel Jumentier. The title is fulfilled with an annex by Jean-Claude Bourret, “The Beast revealed”, a transcription of the lecture he gave in Paris at the Press club on April 11 2016 in which he reconstructed the Beast for the general public.
“Hundreds of books have been published, and continue to be published, on the subject in a manner which unfortunately too often resembles barrel organs where the same music is played over and over again. The idea of writing an imaginary trial of the Beast where historical actors would speak on the witness stand, along with historians of past and present and contemporary commentators and specialists, was a clever device that was never imagined before,” Jean-Claude Bourret, journalist, Paris, June 13, 2022.
“A huge BRAVO to you, this is great literature!” Bernard Soulier, Auvers, June 28 2022.
Year of publication of the presented edition : 2022 (July, 12) (170 pages) - 14€
Editor : Samerlin Éditions
ISBN : 9782955101346
The book is also available in Kindle format for €6.99.
The author :
Pierre-Antoine Courouble, born in 1960, in Lesquin a community in the Nord department, in the region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais, lives today in Joyeuse in the department of Ardèche, a region of the Rhône-Alpes. After his studies in law, economy and educational sciences, he campaigned for ecology to return in the years 2000 to his first love: education and literature. He is a teacher and press correspondent.
Pierre-Antoine Courouble is an active member of the CPPJ where he spearheaded the creation of two museums in the Duchy of Joyeuse (The Place of History and Legend in 2002, the House of Cartoons and Humorous Drawings in 2003). A scriptwriter and actor, he brought to life theater shows to the Duchy of Joyeuse in 2002, which have been going on ever since under the direction of tour operators.
