Jean Lorrain, nato Paul Duval, fu un poeta e romanziere francese associato alla scuola simbolista. Dedito sostenitore del dandyismo e scrittore apertamente gay, Lorrain esplorò temi attraverso le sue raccolte di versi e i suoi romanzi e racconti decadenti. La sua opera è caratterizzata da una voce letteraria distintiva che catturò le sensibilità della sua epoca. È ricordato per il suo approccio stilistico unico e le sue esplorazioni tematiche all'interno del movimento simbolista.
The character of Monsieur de Bougrelon stands out as a unique and exotic creation, reflecting the intense interest in abnormal psychologies during the neo-Naturalist and Symbolist Movements. This literary work, originally serialized in 1897, combines calculated eccentricity with poignant themes, leaving a lasting impression on both the author and readers. Brian Stableford's fully annotated English translation brings this remarkable tale to contemporary audiences, ensuring its relevance and emotional depth resonate even today.
Stories to Read by Candlelight contains eight stories first published in the 1890s by the French author, Jean Lorrain, translated here into English by Patricia Worth. Jean draws the reader back in time to his provincial childhood when his grandmother's seamstress would tell him stories that gave him goose bumps and made him jump under the covers. Here he recounts these same stories, or invents new half-lived half-dreamed stories born of objects found in an attic or an old house. The characters have a mythical quality, whether they be fantastical beings who long to be real, like the embroidered Princess Mandosiane, or real people like Madame Gorgibus, accused of being a wicked fairy. The stories fall between legends and fairy tales, a genre favoured by a few Decadent authors protesting against realism and regretting technological progress.
The use of ether plays a significant role in shaping the feverish and nightmarish atmosphere of these decadent tales. Jean Lorrain's stories are infused with sophisticated and surreal apparitions, reflecting the influence of his drug use. The mysterious circumstances surrounding his ether consumption add an intriguing layer to the exploration of themes such as excess and the darker side of creativity in his work.
The book presents a series of gossipy character sketches featuring a diverse cast, including actresses, mystics, and gigolos, reflecting the eccentricity of its author, Jean Lorrain. Rather than following traditional short story structure, it unfolds like fragments from ongoing conversations, creating a unique literary collage. This collection captures the essence of Lorrain's life and persona, contributing to his controversial reputation for corrupting public morals through literature. The work serves as a vivid portrayal of fin de siècle society.
Set in the late 19th century, this collection features a semi-fictional travel narrative that explores cultural experiences through the lens of Jean Lorrain. Alongside "The Turkish Lady," readers will find "The Last Days of Venice," offering insights into the city's decline, and "The Princess of the Geese," a whimsical fairy tale that showcases Lorrain's flair for the decadent and fantastical. Together, these works highlight Lorrain's unique perspective on travel and storytelling during a transformative era.
The book marks Jean Lorrain's literary debut in 1882, showcasing his early talent for evoking a sense of sophistication and intrigue. Through a collection of poems, he captures the essence of the Decadent movement, stirring reactions in the vibrant cafés of Montmartre. Lorrain's work lays the groundwork for his later masterpieces, hinting at themes of excess and existential exploration that would define his career.
The book is a facsimile reprint of an original antiquarian work, highlighting its cultural significance. It may exhibit imperfections typical of aged texts, including marks, notations, and flawed pages. The publisher aims to protect and promote literary heritage by offering this high-quality edition that remains faithful to the original, making it accessible to a wider audience.
Exploring themes of decadence and immorality, this collection features ten tales by Jean Lorrain, a prominent figure of the Decadent Movement. These stories, presented in English for the first time, revolve around princes and princesses, transforming familiar fairy tale elements into dark narratives that evoke sensuality and voluptuousness. The conte cruel style invites readers to experience a twisted innocence, immersing them in a provocative and atmospheric journey.
No other writer of the fin-de-siEcle period undertook a more elaborate exploration of perversities and abnormalities than Jean Lorrain, and no one else went as far afield in the search for discoveries of that curious kind than he did. Perhaps, given the variety of human behavior, it was not possible for him actually to invent perversities that no one actually practiced, or were even tempted to practice, but what is certain is that no one ever examined the anatomy of eroticism, including its wilder extremes, with a greater analytical fervor. In this, the second collection of short stories by Jean Lorrain to be made available in English, exquisitely translated by Brian Stableford, psychological studies of amorous perversity are presented together with mock-folktales, giving further evidence of the amazing inventiveness and imagination of one of the key figures of the Decadent Movement.
When Jean Lorrain (1855-1906) was recruited to the stable of writers assembled by Catulle Mendès to supply L'Écho de Paris with material on a weekly basis, in July 1890, he joined in readily with the experimental spirit of that enterprise, exploring various narrative strategies that could be employed in fitting work to slots that varied in length between 1,000 and 2,000 words. The contributions to the paper that he signed with his own name were soon outnumbered by the items that he signed "Raitif de la Bretonne," in honor of the prolifically innovative Nicolas-Edmé Restif de la Bretonne (1734-1806), most of whose publications had appeared without the royal warrant necessary prior to the 1789 Revolution for works to be printed and sold legally. Presented here, for the first time in English or any other language, are sixteen of the pieces Lorrain wrote under the "Raitif de la Bretonne," by-line, collected and translated by Brian Stableford, the contents of the present volume partaking in the same meticulously perverse point of view that were the author's unique literary hallmark, thus performing the valuable function of offering readers an eccentric sampling of the his heretofore "lost" work.
