Based on the story of real-life poisoner Helene Jegado, one of the most notorious serial killers of all time. Schooled in the ancient beliefs of the Breton people by her mother, the beautiful Helene grows up feeling detached from the nineteenth century world around her and yet destined for a terrible vocation: to do the work of l'Ankou, death's henchman. Beginning with the demise of her very own maman, she leaves a trail of devastation with the special soups and cakes she makes ? those who taste them never recover. Jean Teule brings his unique blend of imagination and historical insight to a novel that is both a vivid portrait of nineteenth-century provincial French life and a startling chronicle of a decades-long killing spree. AUTHOR: Jean Teule lives in the Marais with the actress Miou-Miou. An illustrator, filmmaker and television presenter, he is also a prize-winning author.
