On 19th June 1767, Jean Chastel, a peasant, slew the Beast of Gévaudan in the forest of La Ténazeyre. It had just attacked and killed its hundredth victim, all of them women and children.
The creature was embalmed and sent to Paris, where it was examined by Buffon, on the orders of Louis XV. It would seem to have been a wolf of remarkable size, but sadly it was in such an advanced state of decomposition that it had to be rapidly disposed of.
The question is - could anyone be sure that the wolf sent to Paris really was the Beast ? Cut to the present day. As she is leaving a conference, a young woman called Margeride approaches a scientist who is there to give a lecture on cloning.

She reveals to him that ever since the 18th century her family has kept in its possession a blood-curdling relic: a fragment of skin and fur belonging to the monster.
Together they succeed in recreating the legendary animal - but then their creature escapes, and the killings of children begin all over again, with the same question mark hanging over them as before: is the Beast acting alone or on the orders of a master ?

In the chilling solitude of the forests and moorland, the return of the monster resurrects the fears and troubles of the past - in a private Gévaudan of the soul.

Link to Amazon
Wikipedia : Mignaval Philippe

Return to Bibliography