The Flame

By Gabriele d'Annunzio

Book Overview

That Book ... that perverse Book -- Eleanora DusaFirst published in Italian in 1900, The Flame is one of the most sensational works of the fin-de-siecle and is justifiably notorious due to its being a thinly-veiled account of the author's tempestuous affair with the legendary actress, Eleanora Dusa. A contemporary critic called it the most swinish novel ever written. Sarah Bernhardt returned her presentation copy to the author unopened.Writing in a florid style reminiscent of Henry James and Walter Pater, D'Annunzio uses turn of the century Venice as a backdrop in this study of the passionate struggle of two gifted artists for supremacy in love and art, and of the difference between male and female fantasy. After almost a century of neglect, D'Annunzio's insight into the nature of passion and the power of language remains disturbingly intact.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1568860625
• ISBN13: 9781568860626
• Release Date: April 1999
• Publisher: Marsilio Publishers
• Length: 312 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.3" x 8.2"