The Life And Death of my Lord Gilles De Rais Hardcover – 17 Sept. 1990

Having recently read "the Maid", an excellent novel based on the life of Joan of Arc by Kimberley Cutter, I was interested to follow up the strange character of Gilles de Rais, a very formidable hero in this era of his life, but deeply and awfully flawed. "The Life and Death of My Lord Gilles de Rais" admirably served my purpose, overlapping the Joan of Arc period and his eccentric and depraved later life and death. Robert Nye is one of the finest of historical novelists, capturing the mores and language of his period while engaging the reader in the story. One might not expect the tale of a murderous paedophile to be fascinating, but without either downplaying or over-dramatising de Rais' terrible crimes, Nye leads us inevitably to his well-deserved end. A strange, fascinating and horrifying read.

A rather battered copy of a boring book - Nye's work is usually better than this.

Highly interesting historical fiction of true recorded events. Robert Nye makes it easy for the reader to follow and comprehend.

A delicious psychological study, using heretical theology to plausibly explain how a man could be both the heroic champion of Joan of Arc and the perpetrator of abominable crimes.Of course, the more mundane alternative - that he was falsely denounced by his nephews for the sake of his estate, and that this was seized on by authorities wishing to punish him for his previous political activities - is also hinted on.This is a subtle novel, with elements of a both mystery and gothic horror, as our priestly ingenu narrator discovers the secrets of the castle... and the mystery of why his pious lord attends many masses, but never receives the Host.