Wolf-Hunting in France in the Reign of Louis XV: The Beast of the Gevaudan [Hardcover]

Richard H. Thompson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0889467463 | ISBN-13: 978-0889467460 | Publication Date: February 1992

This is the true story, so far as it can be reconstructed, of the beast of the Gevaudan, and how it terrorized an entire countryside for years during the 18th century, killing scores of men, women, and children but ignoring the domestic animals.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 328 pages
• Publisher: Edwin Mellen Pr (February 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0889467463
• ISBN-13: 978-0889467460
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,953,879 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars IN THE END WORTH THE PRICE., March 8, 2002

By 

S. Harrington - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wolf-Hunting in France in the Reign of Louis XV: The Beast of the Gevaudan (Hardcover)

I stumbled across this book looking for anything I could find on the Beast of the Gevaudan after seeing the movie The Brotherhood of the Wolf. I was very interested to find out that this movie was based loosely on a real French legend.
Though the author tends to stray from the point sometimes this book has some INCREDIBLE facts about this true story. This alone for me made the book worth the price. The author goes through and accounts for all of the reported attacks that are documented. The accounts are very detailed and truly scary. Also he does a great job of telling how the Beast was finally killed.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in finding out about the The Beast of the Gevaudan.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Account in English of the Beast's Career, July 25, 2004

By 

Beast-Watcher (San Antonio, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wolf-Hunting in France in the Reign of Louis XV: The Beast of the Gevaudan (Hardcover)

Ever since encountering the story of the Beast of the Gevaudan in Montague Summers' The Werewolf in my younger years (2 decades ago), I have searched for a fuller account. Mr. Thompson's work far exceeded my expectations when I chanced upon it - he covers in great detail all the victims and traces the full drama of 1764 to 1767 as the Beast is hunted by Duhamel, Denneval, Antoine de Beauterne, and finally killed by Jean Chastel. After a death tally of 100+, just what was it? A wolf? Crossbred monster? Was there only one? Or two?

Thompson's scholarship is impeccable, and includes a bibliographic appendix listing all known records and studies of the Beast up until 1991 (when this tome was published). Although somewhat costly, I concur with the previous review - it is well worth the price if you want to know about the Beast. I have re-read this work three times to digest all the detail. Finally, scholarship doesn't have to be boring - Thompson has written in a style that strikes one as almost a novel. Before you know it, 50 pages have passed and you find a need to pause to catch your breath.

I give this one my highest recommendation - grab it before it goes out of print.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Incredible find!, May 27, 2008

By 

C. Sunryder "Taliesin" (Aurora, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wolf-Hunting in France in the Reign of Louis XV: The Beast of the Gevaudan (Hardcover)

I began looking for this book in early 2002 when I saw the movie Brotherhood Of The Wolf and wanted to know more about Gevaudan. The long title intrigued me when I first discovered it online. But the price tag was too high and getting higher! Over $700 for goodness sake! Moreover, it was sooo hard to find since it was printed in 1992 and now completely out of print. Years later (2007) as a lark I tried to order it thru Borders since I knew the individual who could place the order. She told me not to hold my breath. Lo and behold, 8 days later I get a call that my book is in. I race to the store and sure enough, there in shrink wrap was my book, brand spanking new! And for only $119 compared to the $700 and near $2,000 that I saw thru Google! "thud" After picking myself off the floor and reattaching my jaw I forsook a full gas tank and bought it on the spot. While outwardly it looks like a library book with no dust jacket, I read the book like a sponge and finished it in about 3 days. It is a terrific read and incredibly well researched. What is depressing is that it's the ONLY book in english (that I'm aware of) that deals with the Beast of Gevaudan. While a few illustrations would have been helpful (some modern renderings of the beast based on historical accounts for example), all in all this is an amazing book. I was surprised at how much research Thompson did for the book and especially how incredibly detailed it was. Even though it does go on a bit about the location, fauna and the political climate of the Gevaudan region for that time period, it's all worth it. I have re-read it two more times since then. It holds a place of reverance in my library and my son (who is 12) already wants to read it himself. I encourage all who want to know more about the Beast of Gevaudan to get this book or at least try to find it at a library. Hopefully it won't be stolen. I have no idea how hard it is to find nowadays and since I think the Borders incident was simply an incredibly lucky fluke, I think it will turn into a vendetta. But in my opinion, the journey is worth taking. It's a helluva book to have and I even impressed a few coworkers who were also searching for it. I really am curious as to how many were actually printed as a whole. I won't spoil the end or the Beasts identity (according to Thompson) but the final chapter does leave one wondering about a few things. So to all those who take up the challenge, good luck! It's well worth it!