The Wolf Leader

A man makes a devil’s bargain with a mysterious wolf in one of the first werewolf novels ever written from the author of The Three Musketeers. When the shoemaker Thibault is unjustly abused by the Lord of Vez, he encounters an unlikely chance at revenge. A huge wolf approaches him, walking upright on its hind legs, and offers Thibault a pact. Every time he wishes harm on another man, the wolf will grant the wish, in exchange for one of Thibault’s hairs. Sealing the pact with an exchange of rings, Thibault soon finds himself transforming. Suddenly, the wolves surrounding the village are at his command, and the hairs promised to his mysterious benefactor begin to grow long and red. First published in 1857 as Le Menuer de loupe, Dumas’s tale of Faustian horror has thrilled readers for generations.