Among the many hypotheses which attempt to explain the mystery of the Beast of Gévaudan is the theory that it was a serial killer.
If such a person did exist, how did he live?
What drove him to commit murder?
What finally became of him?
In an account which combines fiction with historical fact, the author attempts to answer these questions by imagining what the life of the Beast may have been like in the days between the first murder, on 1st July 1764, and the last one, on 16th May 1767.
In the course of these pages, a picture of the Margeride region and its traditional way of life is revealed.
"My name is ...
No, I shall not tell you my name. If you wish to know it, you must first read the strange tale of the life that was mine, told in these pages as well as my failing memory will permit.
And then, urged on by curiosity, you will seek for the answer, as one seeks to answer a riddle that must be solved. Please God you will never be able to put a name to my face, and that the curse which was laid upon me will be for evermore consigned to oblivion!"
Year of publication of the presented edition : 2007
Editor : Cévennes-Gévaudan
Available at the Tourist Office at Aumont-Aubrac. Street Prieure, 48130 Aumont Aubrac - France - +33 (0)4 66 42 88 70
The author :
Roger Lagrave (1923-2021) wanted to introduce the wealth of his department to as many people as possible. He became a local editor, from his home in La Salle-Prunet. Artisan of the Gévaudan-Cévennes editions, he published magazines that dealt with the history, geography, geology, tales and legends of Lozère and Gévaudan.