From Booklist
In belle epoque Paris, mesmerism, the ability to hypnotize others to do one’s will, was quite the rage, and it wound up being quite the defense for one of the two accused of robbing and strangling wealthy widower Toussaint-Augustin Gouffé. Was the petite démon (little devil) Gabrielle Bompard, a good girl turned good-time girl, in thrall to bamboozling raconteur Michel Eyraud? Certainly, it made a great story then, one that the tabloids worldwide emblazoned in lurid headlines for months, and one that Levingston tells here, filled with clever and determined detectives (quotes from Sûreté chief Marie-François Goron’s own memoir are included), theories about criminology, opinionizing by such luminaries as writer Émile Zola, and the ambience of an era that arguably can’t be matched for its guilelessness. Levingston’s smartly chipper prose and fine attention to detail—down to the otter trim on Gabrielle’s hat—add an entertaining and authentic sensibility to this re-creation of a culture, a crime, and the first time an accused murderer had put forward a hypnotism defense. --Eloise Kinney
Review
Praise for Little Demon in the City of Light:
"...An engaging—and finally chilling—portrait of an uneasy era and a city of more shadow than light."
—The Washington Post
"Equal parts period piece, forensic manual, and legal thriller, the book is a strong entry in the 'fascinating case in a fascinating time' genre."
—The Daily Beast
"...Fascinating... A rich portrait of the period, as well as the intriguing story of a notorious murder case, with its strange (and often amusing) cast of characters."
—The Boston Globe
"Levingston's smartly chipper prose and fine attention to detail...add an entertaining and authentic sensibility to this re-creation of a culture, a crime, and "the first time an accused murderer had put forward a hypnotism defense."
—Booklist
"...Readers are well-served by his reimagining of this amazing true story."
—Minneapolis Star-Tribune
“This is an amazing tale of sex and hypnosis and murder in Paris, and it’s all true. Levingston has produced both a ‘mesmerizing’ crime story and also a fascinating look at science and society in the late 19th century.”
—Walter Isaacson, CEO of the Aspen Institute and author of biographies of Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein and Steve Jobs
“Vividly conjuring a sweeping cast of characters who reflect the lusty excess and dark anxieties of the times, Little Demon in the City of Light paints a lavish portrait of Belle Époque Paris while unfurling one of the most compelling murder trials in the city’s history. With penetrating insight and radiant style, Steven Levingston has crafted a mesmerizing true story.”
—Karen Abbott, author of Sin in the Second City and American Rose
“Like The Devil in the White City, this Little Demon in the City of Light tracks murder and sexual crime in the days of silk top hats and horse-drawn carriages. The reader will enter Paris, witness a grisly crime, then follow a trans-Atlantic escape and the relentless pursuit by the authorities. The tale plays outnot as a whodunit, but rather as a will-she-get-away-it and… should she? In effect, the beautiful young Parisienne didn't plead insanity but rather hypnotism. Was she a calculating predator? Or was she herself a victim, mesmerized by her Svengali-like lover to commit crimes? You decide whether the lawyers, doctors and judges of 19th century Paris got the verdict right.”
—Richard Zacks, author of Island of Vice and The Pirate Hunter
“Steven Levingston has given us a deeply-researched and engagingly-told story of murder and science in turn-of-the-century Paris. We think of the Belle Époque as all light and gaiety, but the era had a macabre side as well, which Levingston vividly brings to life.”
—Douglas Starr, author of The Killer of Little Shepherds and Blood
"If a book can hover right at the edge of almost-magic and real murder, then Little Demon in the City of Light is that book. Author Steven Levingston casts a spell that weaves together a horrific late-19th century murder in Paris, a pair of the most devious killers possible, and a mystery that hinges on a question that still haunts us today—how much power does one person have over another when it comes to evil?"
—Deborah Blum, author of The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York
“Steven Levingston casts a hypnotic spell in this remarkable tale of sex, murder and mesmerism in 19th century Paris. Magnifique!”
—Daniel Stashower, author of The Hour of Peril: The Secret Plot to Murder Lincoln Before the Civil War
“A first-rate detective story, a sensational trial, and Paris when the Eiffel Tower was new—a wonderfully entertaining piece of social history.”
—Joseph Kanon, author of The Good German and Istanbul Passage
“What a hypnotic read! Steven Levingston has used an extraordinary French murder case to conjure up an unforgettable picture of Belle Époque Paris and its sexual, cultural and supernatural obsessions. Like Erik Larson’s The Devil in the White City, Levingston uses his “Little Demon” to illuminate a historical period and the strange issues that animated it. Meticulously researched and well written, this is truly a book that will take you to another time and place—contemplating bizarre characters and issues you never imagined.”
—David Ignatius, Washington Post columnist and author of the forthcoming novel, The Director
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