Procès, Crimes Et Attentats Des Prêtres

Paris: L.-P. Sétier for É.-L. Roy & L.-G. Terry, 1830. 19th-century green sheep-backed purple paste paper boards (edges scuffed, corners bumped), gilt title and geometric and floral rolls on spine.

The collection of twenty-three court cases document refusal of burial, fines for not removing one's hat when encountering a procession, fratricide, infanticide, assaulting a musician, theft, clergy marrying, etc.... Descriptions of the cases range from transcripts of interrogations in court to dramatic accounts of the crimes, such as the fifty-plus pages devoted to the case of Antoine Mingrat, a priest accused of sexually assaulting, murdering and then dismembering his parishioner, Mary Gérin. Preceding the cases is an essay on the causes of the crime, arguing that clergy should not be above the law. This appears to a later edition.
In good condition (some spots, two corners clipped) bookplate of ?A. Villard on front pastedown, inscription reading "Paris 15/3/21" on first flyleaf and stamp with the initials "H.A." and date 31 Déc. 1933"on title.
¶see De Doncker's, A Canon of Crime: The Rise and Development of the Causes Célèbres in Europe, 1734-1890 1-8 & 185-90.