The Devils of Loudun
Huxley's study of a 17th-century French possession scandal, and how hysteria and power destroy individual autonomy.
In 1634 a French priest was burned alive after an entire convent of Ursuline nuns accused him of bewitching them. Aldous Huxley reconstructs the case in forensic detail, using it to examine mass hysteria, sexual repression, and the machinery by which a community destroys an inconvenient man. Part history, part philosophy, it is one of his most unsettling books. Guillermo del Toro urged readers to tackle it, calling it incredibly pertinent to how autonomy is destroyed in times of crisis.
Recommended by 1 Person
Guillermo del Toro
It is INCREDIBLY pertinent to what we are going through and how autonomy can be destroyed in times of crisis.
Tweet · April 2020
As an Amazon Associate, bookstoread.org earns from qualifying purchases. Links to Amazon on this page may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. Spotted an error on this page? Tell us and we will fix it.