Bluebeard
Dive In
BLUEBEARD offers the opportunity to enter an incredible world of murder, magnificence, and madness - where opulence and glory come to life alongside unthinkable brutality and evil.
Here, then, is your opportunity to be astonished as this fabulously rich 15th century French aristocrat, the celebrated war hero nicknamed Bluebeard, turns into a ruthless exterminator.
Joan of Arc’s close friend, one of the wealthiest and most respected men in France, Gilles de Rais, became a notorious serial killer. The story of his shocking life has been hidden in musty books moldering in remote French monasteries and libraries until now.
What People Are Saying
“A gripping and terrifying read for those captivated by the story of Bluebeard. It
graphically chronicles how a war hero is devastated by the brutality he experiences--a tale with keen present day relevance!”
"Ms. Ogden marshals a great deal of research and a remarkable flare for drama to set the life of Gilles de Rais, the notorious Bluebeard, in vivid historical context. She explores questions of good versus evil, nature versus nurture and points out that they are as salient and perplexing in the fifteenth century as they are today. A good read. Brava!"
'Valerie Ogden’s real life monster, Gilles de Rais, leaps from the pages of her sensational narrative to challenge our notions of the limits of human depravity. Ogden searches for answers to what drove the fiend to act and why the Church granted him absolution for his crimes. Not for the faint hearted."
- Edward G. Rendell, former Governor of Pennsylvania
- David Plimpton, PhD, author, clinical psychologist
- Richard Ben-Veniste Special Watergate Prosecutor and 9/11 Commission Member
About the Author
Valerie Ogden accidentally found out about Bluebeard when her nephew married his descendant, and the family hushed all her sudden questions. Nevertheless, absorbed by his story, she decided to research his life with an extensive visit to the Bibliotheque de Nantes in Brittany, France, the site of many of his massacres. She is an American actor, author, animal activist and French Scholar who formerly worked in many diverse jobs: New York security analyst, editor of the Best Bets column in House & Garden, maid /manager of a B&B, rock Disc Jockey. She has also served as a district committeeperson, Chair of the Mayor’s Animal Advisory Committee for the City of Philadelphia and President of the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.