Vies de Gilles de Rais

by Vincent Petitjean

Book cover: Vies de Gilles de Rais

Extent: 562 pages

Publisher: Classiques Garnier

Subjects: Literary Studies

Series: Perspectives comparatistes

Series volume number: 35

Language: French

Paperback (Published)

(January 2016)

ISBN: 9782812447594

Price: $69.00

In stock

The literary and aesthetic posterity of Gilles de Rais harbours an ambiguity linked to his literary status. Is he an historical character, a heroic figure, a macabre legend, or a literary myth? The work endeavours to answer this question by investigating five centuries of literature. It also seeks to understand the stakes of representing this paradoxical and monstrous figure.


The literary and aesthetic posterity of Gilles de Rais harbours an ambiguity linked to his literary status. Is he an historical character, a heroic figure, a macabre legend, or a literary myth? The work endeavours to answer this question by investigating five centuries of literature. It also seeks to understand the stakes of representing this paradoxical and monstrous figure.

  • By (author) Vincent Petitjean