Career
She belonged to a noble family in Bordeaux and was described as a charming beauty. She was arranged to marry the much older Alexander de Poulaillon, with whom she became much unhappy. Her husband was warned of her attempts, had her imprisoned in a convent in 1678 and reported her.
Marguerite de Poulaillon was the first person from the upper classes to be implicated in the Poison Affair, and the case against her was regarded to form a precedence against other accused of the same status, and was therefore carefully treated.
She confessed to her guilt before trial and explained herself willing to submit to the death penalty. She was initially sentenced to banishment 5 June 1679.
Her sentence was therefore changed to confinement in a work house for former prostitutes in Angers. In 1697, Marguerite de Poulaillon appealed to be transferred from the work house to a convent, but her appeal was denied by Gabriel Nicolas de la Reynie, and she remained in the prison work house until her death.
The verdict made the court lose face in the eyes of the public.