Beautiful Parricide
Preserved but no longer current.
Beatrice Cenci, daughter of Francesco Cenci, a dissipated and passion- ate Roman nobleman. With her brothers, she plotted the death of her father because of his unmitigated cruelty to his wife and children. She was executed in 1599, and at-the trial her counsel, with the view of still further gaining popular sympathy for his client, accused the father, probably without foundation, of having attempted to commit incest with her.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Beautiful Parricide” mean?
Beatrice Cenci, daughter of Francesco Cenci, a dissipated and passion- ate Roman nobleman. With her brothers, she plotted the death of her father because of his unmitigated cruelty to his wife and children. She was executed in 1599, and at-the trial her counsel, with the view of still further gaining popular sympathy for his client, accused the father, probably without foundation, of having attempted to commit incest with her.
Is “Beautiful Parricide” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.