The Devils of Loudun

The Devils of Loudun is a book by Edmund Goldsmid, first published in 1887. This gripping historical account — translated and edited from contemporary French eyewitness material — reconstructs the notorious seventeenth-century Loudun possessions, the mass exorcisms of the Ursuline nuns, and the trial and execution of the priest Urbain Grandier.

Written with the meticulous eye of a Victorian editor, the work frames the affair as a collision of religious fervour, local politics and personal vendettas, making it essential reading for anyone interested in witchcraft trials, ecclesiastical history, and early modern European scandal. The narrative blends courtroom drama, social observation and chilling testimony to explore themes of power, sexual repression and mass hysteria.

Readers searching for historical true-crime, accounts of demonology and possession, or primary-source translations of seventeenth-century events will find this a compact but authoritative treatment. Its detailed, eyewitness-rooted voice has long informed later retellings of the Loudun affair and remains a valuable source for readers who prefer sober, documentary history over sensationalised versions.