Alexandre Dumas - Celebrated Crimes, Vol. 5: Part 1: Desrues

This story chronicles the crimes of Antoine-Francois Desrues (also called «Derues») from his childhood to his execution. Desrues constructed the veneer of a virtuous reputation that hid his ever-increasing deviancy from society. Eventually, his lust for fame and fortune (especially the latter) crumbled his virtuous veneer, revealing the startling extent of his crimes, and condemning him to justice by the executioner's hand. — Summary by jvanstan