From the French city of Poitiers, the Monniers were a very wealthy family with noble roots. In 1874, widowed mother Louise and grown children Blanche and Marcel lived in a villa at 21 rue de la Visitation. They could have lived a carefree life of luxury, with balls, opera and travel. Daughter Blanche was also considered an outspoken beauty who had many admirers at her feet. And despite these near-perfect conditions, the life of the historical It-Girl would be one big tragedy.
Because the beautiful Blanche fell in love – and not with an aristocratic scion, but with an ordinary lawyer who was not only significantly older than herself, but also not nearly as rich as the Monnier family. That was out of the question for the young woman’s mother. She banned Blanche from the relationship. But the 25-year-old refused to give up on her lover, and she also refused to marry another man instead.
Certainly there were similar scenes in many families, rich or poor. Weddings were not always about love, they were often about money, reputation or important contacts. But Louise Monnier seemed overwhelmed by her daughter’s determination. The fear that the young woman could elope with her lover and ruin the family’s reputation was so great that she decided to take an incredible step: Louise locked Blanche in a secret room in the villa. The only window in the room was boarded up, so there was no more daylight in it.
The family acquaintances were told either that Blanche had traveled abroad or that she had died suddenly. Her lover, the lawyer Victor Cameil, kept investigating, but died unexpectedly in 1885. After that, the young woman simply disappeared from the scene. Her family went on with their lives as normal.
Presumably none of those involved thought that Blanche would spend the next 26 years in this small, dark room. It seems like after a while the mother and brother tried to ignore the existence of the imprisoned Blanche. The prisoner was looked after mainly by a maid who was extremely loyal to Louise Monnier. That maid brought Blanche food to her sad prison every day for over two decades without ever speaking to anyone outside the villa. Shortly before she retired, Marcel Monnier presented her with an award for particularly loyal service.
Witnesses later reported hearing mysterious screams in the vicinity of the villa from time to time around 1874 and for months thereafter. “What have I done to deserve this?” someone wants to understand. Or: “There can be no God if something like this happens to me.” Why then no one notified the police – you have to put it down to the fact that it was a different time in which much more was considered a “private matter” than today.
After many months in isolation, Blanche appears to have resigned. There was nothing to indicate that her family would ever see her, no one seemed to miss her, she would probably die one day in this dark room without ever having seen the light of day again. Her care also seemed to be getting worse and worse: the room was hardly cleaned anymore, no one brought her clean clothes anymore. When the old maid retired, Marcel Monnier wanted to hire another, younger employee to take her place. He forced the woman to exercise absolute discretion, but she couldn’t keep to herself what she had experienced and seen. It is believed that she told a friend about it.
He couldn’t believe the wealthy, respected family could get away with something so horrific. He wrote a short message to the police: “I have the honor to inform you of a very serious matter. I speak of an unmarried lady who is locked up in Madame Monnier’s house, half-starved and surrounded by fetid filth, frankly: She’s been living in her own waste for 25 years.”
And indeed, the police took this tip seriously and investigated the villa on Rue de la Visitation. With a shock, they entered the secret room in which Blanche was lying completely naked on a moldy straw mattress. It was dark, stank badly, leftovers were everywhere. Apparently the imprisoned had refused to eat at some point. She weighed less than 30 kilos, was only skin and bones. The long, dark hair was completely matted. She no longer had the strength to get up on her own.
Louise Monnier, now 75, and her son Marcel were arrested. When the story broke, it caused a societal outcry. Every newspaper – in France, the rest of Europe and even in New York – reported on the case of the “Poitiers incarcerated”. People were shocked. An angry, screaming mob gathered in front of Louise’s prison cell, which the matriarch saw. She died a few days later of a heart attack. Only Marcel, Blanche’s brother, ended up in court.
Marcel Monnier was first convicted, but acquitted after an appeal. “Failure to provide assistance” was not in the law at the time, and there was no evidence that he was directly involved in the crime – although he had spoken to the housemaids who were in the know.
Things didn’t go much better for Blanche after her liberation. The 26 years in her dungeon had not left their mark on her state of mind – she was diagnosed as mentally ill and taken to a mental institution. One can assume that things were only slightly better for her there than in her family’s house. She died there in 1913 at the age of 64.
The sensational case also gave rise to numerous myths and speculations that may or may not contain a core of truth. For example, there is a rumor that Blanche was pregnant by her lover and gave birth to a baby while in captivity. Her mother would have locked her up to spare the family the shame. The child would have been secretly given away.
Others believe that Blanche did not first suffer from mental damage as a result of the long isolation, but rather showed signs of mental illness as a young woman. Her mother didn’t want to risk it becoming known and causing a social scandal after the daughter got married and moved out of the family mansion. That’s why she was locked up. None of this can be proven today.
