The Mistress and the Witch

Sorcerer and fortune-teller Catherine "La Voisin" Monvoisin was sentenced to death on 22nd February, 1680. She had supplied poisons and potions to clients including Madame de Montespan, official mistress to King Louis XIV. Monvoisin’s punishment was the climax of the witchcraft hysteria that rocked the Parisian court, triggered by the confessions of Madame de Brinvilliers, who’d been executed for conspiring to poison her father. The scandal became known as ‘The Affair of the Poisons’. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how a ‘black mass’ actually worked; ponder how it was such a seemingly small jump from chiromancy to murder in Voisin’s backstreet clinics; and consider what La Voisin’s career would look like if she was around these days…  Further Reading: • ‘La Voisin and the Scandalous Affair of the Poisons’ (SciHi, 2019): http://scihi.org/affair-poisons-voisin/ • ‘The Bizarre Life Of The Murderous French Fortuneteller La Voisin’ (Grunge, 2020): https://www.grunge.com/246131/the-bizarre-life-of-the-murderous-french-fortuneteller-la-voisin/ • ‘The Terror of History: The Witch Hunt in Early Modern Europe’ (UCLA, 2007): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOQND4fVF_w #1600s #Witchcraft #France #Macabre Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!   We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors   The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices