Résumé
Résumé de L’affaire Vukobrankovics
À qui s’adresse-t-il ?
You will enjoy this if you like real courtroom drama, the psychology of crime, old Vienna, and the questions about guilt, illness and justice that a single remarkable defendant can raise.
De quoi parle ce livre ?
What kind of person poisons the people who trust her most, and why do judges and juries so often warm to her? Ernst Weiss, a physician who became a novelist, explores this through two Vienna trials, one in 1918 and one in December 1923. The accused is Milica Vukobrankovics, a young teacher of noble Serbian descent, charming, brilliant and quick with words. Weiss follows the questions of judges, the replies of the defendant, the witnesses and the psychiatrists. He ends with a plain and troubling question about what a society should do with someone neither clearly sick nor clearly sane.
Dans ce résumé
- 1A trusted young teacher stands accusedFree
- 2Her defence is clever but proves nothing
- 3Experts clash and the verdict splits
- 4The second poisoning, in a publisher's household
- 5Verdicts, experts and the problem of motive
- 6What the poisoner is, and what to do with her
Point clé 1 sur 6
A trusted young teacher stands accused
The first trial opens in Vienna on October 28, 1918, just as the Habsburg empire is ending. The defendant is Milica Vukobrankovics, a teacher of twenty-four. She is charged with trying to poison the family of Rudolf Piffl, a state school inspector, and with defaming their adopted son, Albert.
The Piffls had treated her almost like a daughter. Then Mrs. Piffl and her relatives fall ill, and doctors name arsenic. Later a phosphorus pill turns up in her heart pills, and a letter sends the family to look under a sofa.
Vukobrankovics denies everything, and a psychiatric examination finds her mentally sound. Weiss says the details matter because only her behaviour and defence can show the mind behind the acts.
That’s 1 of 6 key points.
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Questions about L’affaire Vukobrankovics
What is The Vukobrankovics Case about?
It tells of two Vienna trials, in 1918 and 1923, of Milica Vukobrankovics, a young teacher accused of poisoning those closest to her. Ernst Weiss follows the testimony and the psychiatrists, and asks what drives such a poisoner.
Is The Vukobrankovics Case a true story?
Yes, it is a real case. Weiss draws on trial testimony, expert reports, press accounts and the defendant's own prison book, and adds his own reflections and comparisons with older poisoners.
Who was Milica Vukobrankovics?
She was a gifted teacher and writer of noble Serbian descent who lived in Vienna. Judges and witnesses often found her charming, and she became a sensation in the Vienna press at the second trial.
Who are Gesche Gottfried and the Marquise de Brinvilliers in this book?
They are famous poisoners from earlier times, one from Bremen and one from France. Weiss compares them with the defendant to show shared traits such as charm, calm and a lack of clear motive.
Is The Vukobrankovics Case easy to follow?
The book is easy to follow because it often uses lively dialogue between judges, witnesses and the defendant. Short scenes, clear verdicts and Weiss's direct comments guide the reader through each stage.