Craig A. Monson Libros

Exploring the lives of female poisoners in seventeenth-century Rome, this account delves into their motivations, methods, and the societal context that allowed such figures to thrive. It uncovers the intricate details of their stories, revealing the complexities of gender, power, and survival in a tumultuous era. Through thorough research, the narrative paints a vivid picture of these women, challenging traditional notions of crime and femininity in historical narratives.

In April 1644, two nuns fled Bologna's convent for reformed prostitutes. An investigation went nowhere, and the nuns were forgotten. By June of the next year, however, an overwhelming stench drew a woman to the wine cellar of her Bolognese townhouse, reopened after a two-year absence, where to her horror she discovered the eerily intact, garroted corpses of the two missing women. Drawing on primary sources, Monson reconstructs the history of crime and punishment in seventeenth-century Italy.