Robert Louis Stevenson treks through the French highlands hoping to heal his recently broken heartâ€”prompted by the loss of one Mrs. Fanny Osbourneâ€”and to gather notes for a new

The Beast of Gévaudan

Robert Louis Stevenson treks through the French highlands hoping to heal his recently broken heartâ€”prompted by the loss of one Mrs. Fanny Osbourneâ€”and to gather notes for a new travelogue, Travels with a Donkey in the CÃ©vennes. Along with the fickle Modestine, his pack donkey, Stevenson journeys 120 miles through villages and valleys, encountering innkeepers and fellow travelers, a monk-filled monastery, a violent, angry mob, and more superstitious locals than one could adequately poke with a donkey goad. These things heâ€™d expected, but not the mysterious figure trailing him, the murder, nor, above all, a confrontation with the notorious Beast of GÃ©vaudan of 18th-century legend. Hunted, heart-sick, questioning his own sanity and senses, Stevenson forms unlikely alliances as he is forced to face an entire region of werewolvesâ€”and possibly worseâ€”in order to reach his destination and desire, AlÃ¨s and a longed-for letter from his estranged love.

The Beast of Gévaudan