"History is but the nail on which the picture hangs" said Dumas and he applied his liberal approach to facts in this fascinating eight-volume series which covers in a sensational and vivid manner the most famous and scandalous crimes of the last six hundred years. Murder, poisonings, illicit love affairs, torture, incest, betrayals and revenge are all detailed in eighteen separate cases. We meet the scheming Borgias, beautiful and suffering Beatrice Cenci, bloodthirsty Ali Pasha, noble Joachim Murat and many more fascinating and highly embellished historical characters.