THE DAMNED PB – JORIS-KARL HUYSMANS-TERRY HALE-TERRY HALE

"Joris-Karl Huysmans shocking novel of an innocent s descent into a world of depraved, blasphemous rituals, The Damned (La-Bas) caused a scandal when it was first published in nineteenth-century France. This Penguin Classics edition is translated with an introduction and notes by Terry Hale. Durtal, a shy, censorious man, is writing a biography of Gilles de Rais, the monstrous fifteenth-century child-murderer thought to be the original for Bluebeard . Bored and disgusted by the vulgarity of everyday life, Durtal seeks spiritual solace by immersing himself in another age. But when he starts asking questions about Gilles s involvement in satanic rituals and is introduced to the exquisitely evil madame Chantelouve, he is soon drawn into a twilight world of black magic and erotic devilry in fin-de- siecle Paris. Published in 1891, The Damned cemented Huysmans s reputation as a writer at the forefront of the avant-garde and as one of the most challenging and innovative figures in European literature. In his introduction, Terry Hale discusses autobiographical aspects of this scandalous novel, Huysmans s fascination with occult practices, the real woman who inspired the character of Madame Chantelouve and other literary accounts of Gilles de Rais. This edition also includes further reading, a chronology and notes. Joris-Karl Huysmans (1848-1907) is now recognized as one of the most challenging and innovative figures in European literature and an acknowledged principal architect of the fin-de-siecle imagination. He was a career civil servant who wrote ten novels, most notably A Rebours and La-Bas. If you enjoyed The Damned, you might like Huysmans s Against Nature (A Rebours), also available in Penguin Classics."