Marchioness de Brinvilliers
From The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia
Historical figure.
Marie-Madeleine d'Aubray, Marquise de Brinvilliers (22 july 1630 - 16 july 1676) was a French aristocrat who was accused and convicted of murdering her father and two of her brothers in order to inherit their estates. After her death, there was speculation that she tested her poisons on upwards of 30 sick people in hospitals, but these rumours were never confirmed.
In the Sherlock Holmes stories
- After alluding airily to the Vehmgericht, aqua tofana, Carbonari, the Marchioness de Brinvilliers, the Darwinian theory, the principles of Malthus, and the Ratcliff Highway murders, the article of the Daily Telegraph concluded by admonishing the Government and advocating a closer watch over foreigners in England (STUD 1020).
