Reviews
A true-life detective tale set not amid the glamour and romance of a well-touristed Paris but in a secret city that runs thick with the lives of the forgotten and the abandoned., A well-researched and thoroughly readable account of French culture as revealed in a generally forgotten murder case._, A well-researched and thoroughly readable account of French culture as revealed in a generally forgotten murder case.", _The trial captivated France, and readers will be just as captivated by Maza_s study of Noziere and the culture of interwar France._, _The story itself is so fascinating that general readers interested in crime and mystery will be enthralled._, The story itself is so fascinating that general readers interested in crime and mystery will be enthralled., Compelling. . . . A brief review cannot convey the elegance and persuasiveness of Maza's version of this famous case., "Maza explains brilliantly how and why Violette's story--or a culturally acceptable version of her story--grew from being a mere fait divers, or miscellaneous news item, into a nationally staged drama that bound France in schadenfreude-laced fascination near the end of the turbulent and divisive Third Republic. Combining a neatly suspenseful account of Violette's crime and its consequences with a richly layered cultural history . . . she skillfully analyzes Violette's transformation from wretched schoolgirl to cultural icon."-- New York Times Book Review, _[An] excellent new biography. . . . Maza gorgeously weaves together social history, crime culture, gender theory, and thorough research._, Excellent. . . . Maza gorgeously weaves together social history, crime culture, gender theory, and thorough research., _Maza explains brilliantly how and why Violette_s story_or a culturally acceptable version of her story_grew from being a mere fait divers, or miscellaneous news item, into a nationally staged drama that bound France in schadenfreude-laced fascination near the end of the turbulent and divisive Third Republic. Combining a neatly suspenseful account of Violette_s crime and its consequences with a richly layered cultural history . . . she skillfully analyzes Violette_s transformation from wretched schoolgirl to cultural icon._, "The story itself is so fascinating that general readers interested in crime and mystery will be enthralled."-- Library Journal, _A true-life detective tale set not amid the glamour and romance of a well-touristed Paris but in a secret city that runs thick with the lives of the forgotten and the abandoned._, "A true-life detective tale set not amid the glamour and romance of a well-touristed Paris but in a secret city that runs thick with the lives of the forgotten and the abandoned."-- T: the New York Times Style Magazine, "Excellent. . . . Maza gorgeously weaves together social history, crime culture, gender theory, and thorough research."-- New Books In Biography, _Compelling. . . . A brief review cannot convey the elegance and persuasiveness of Maza_s version of this famous case._, _Excellent. . . . Maza gorgeously weaves together social history, crime culture, gender theory, and thorough research._, The trial captivated France, and readers will be just as captivated by Maza's study of Noziere and the culture of interwar France., Maza explains brilliantly how and why Violette's story-or a culturally acceptable version of her story-grew from being a mere fait divers, or miscellaneous news item, into a nationally staged drama that bound France in schadenfreude-laced fascination near the end of the turbulent and divisive Third Republic. Combining a neatly suspenseful account of Violette's crime and its consequences with a richly layered cultural history . . . she skillfully analyzes Violette's transformation from wretched schoolgirl to cultural icon., [An] excellent new biography. . . . Maza gorgeously weaves together social history, crime culture, gender theory, and thorough research., A well-researched and thoroughly readable account of French culture as revealed in a generally forgotten murder case."-- Chico News & Review
