“The Affair of the Poisons” by Anne Somerset

“The Affair of the Poisons” Book Review
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“The Affair of the Poisons” by Anne Somerset Book Review
“The Affair of the Poisons: Murder, Infanticide, and Satanism at the Court of Louis XIV” by Anne Somerset is written on a temporal scope of the late 17th century and in the geographical area of France, precisely the court of Louis XIV. The Affair of the Poisons majorly devolves around the dark events that took place in the 17th century in the court of King Louis XIV, France. The period is characterized by one-of-a-kind exposure to a series of poisonings, murders, infanticides, and Satanism that was being witnessed within the French community.[Somerset, Anne. The Affair of the Poisons. St. Martin’s Press, 2014.]
As alluded to by Somerset, there was a notorious group of poisoners, fortune-tellers, and practitioners of dark arts. Some of the leaders of the group included La Voisin Catherine Deshayes, among others. Somerset seeks to illuminate the fear and the moral decadence that was on display during the 17th century, not only in France but in the entire Europe. The book vividly seeks to shed light on the events of the period of the ruling of Louis XIV. She, Anne Somerset, identifies how corruption and moral decay were glorified even in the court system in France. From the beginning to the end, the unraveling of events is super intriguing for the reader.
To construct her narrative, Anne Somerset relies upon multiple resources and evidence to justify her storyline. Anne’s major sources are primary and secondary material, playing a significant role in explaining her story. To provide first-hand information about the occurrences in France in the 17th century, Somerset relies on primary resources such as court documents, letters, diaries, trial transcripts, and memoirs believed to be written by the individuals who lived in the moment. These sources provide the most reliable source of information that gives her narrative a sense of fact and paints the picture the way it was. Confessions and another court ruling significantly show why such crimes were committed and the motivation behind them. From the primary sources, Anne constructs the occurrences of the events and makes the storyline catchy. The sources are concrete evidence of what transpired.
Materials such as scholarly works, biographies, and historical analyses of the era, commonly referred to as secondary sources, came in handy as well in ensuring the success of the narrative. Anne was able to contextualize her primary sources, giving her a background of the Louis XIV court. The secondary sources helped Anne contextualize the situation as it was in France in the 17th century. With such sources, Anne was able to learn why the events of the 17th century occurred, the motive and who did it, and why.
These legal and descriptive sources gave the narrative authenticity. From the legal documents, Anne was able to learn about the criminal activities, proceedings, and the conclusions of multiple cases. Letters and memoirs offered personal opinions and personal narrations by the involved individuals. Therefore, the narration can be concluded to be factual and linked to the personnel involved in ...