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This novel is the classic of Satanism. It caused a sensation when it first appeared in 1891 because of its extraordinarily detailed and vivid descriptions of the Black Mass. These descriptions are also authentic, for J. K. Huysmans, who has been called the greatest of the French... Read Full Overview

Joris-Karl Huysmans' shocking novel of an innocent's descent into a world of depraved, blasphemous rituals 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... Read Full Overview

Joris-Karl Huysmans' shocking novel of an innocent's descent into a world of depraved, blasphemous rituals

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'... Read Full Overview

'Literally translated as "down there", l?-bas is here used by Huysmans in its other sense: Hell. This novel is one of the key texts of the Decadent movement of the 1890s and writhes with satanists, occultists, incubi (male demons), succubi (female demons) and intellectuals.
Durtal... Read Full Overview

The enervated anti-hero, Durtal, is writing a book about Gilles de Rais, child-murderer and comrade in arms of Joan of Arc. When he's not studying alchemy, visiting Rais' ruined castle and fantasizing about a mystery woman, he is pondering Catholicism with his friends. His sexual... Read Full Overview

THE DAMNED (L?-bas) follows Durtal, a sensitive, spiritually-attuned man who is writing a biography of the fifteenth-century child-murderer Gilles de Rais (the supposed model for "Bluebeard"). Durtal scorns the bored embrace of commonplace reality so characteristic of his age,... Read Full Overview

Le héros Durtal, un médiocre auteur parisien, écrit une biographie de Gilles de Rais qui fut accusé, au xve siècle, d'avoir violé et torturé des dizaines d'enfants. Afin de se documenter, Durtal s'entretient avec ses amis d'occultisme, d'astrologie, de spiritisme, de magie et... Read Full Overview

Cult curio about satanism in fin-de-siecle Paris. The classic tale of satanism and sexual obsession in nineteenth-century Paris, in an attractive new edition...Strong meat for diseased imaginations (Murrough O'Brien in The Independent on Sunday) This superb new translation by... Read Full Overview

French novelist Charles Marie George Huysmans adopted the pseudonym Joris-Karl, or J. K. Huysmans, for his novels, short stories and art criticism. His thirty-year tenure at the French Ministry of the Interior allowed him the financial and personal freedom to write as he pleased... Read Full Overview

"L?-Bas" follows Durtal, a disillusioned novelist seeking solace in the Middle Ages due to the modern world's emptiness. In Paris, he unveils the existence of Satanism, alive and thriving in turn-of-the-century France.

This book is a result of an effort made by us towards making a contribution to the preservation and repair of original classic literature. In an attempt to preserve, improve and recreate the original content, we have worked towards: 1. Type-setting & Reformatting: The complete... Read Full Overview

Published in 1891, LA-BAS is Huysmans' best-selling novel; its success was due, in part, to its sensational contents. It is in this novel that Huysmans' character, Durtal, is introduced for the first time. This character is thought to be a semi-autobiographical... Read Full Overview

WORK IS IN FRENCH

This book is a reproduction of a work published before 1920 and is part of a collection of books reprinted and edited by Hachette Livre, in the framework of a partnership with the National Library of France, providing the opportunity... Read Full Overview

Le h ros Durtal, un m diocre auteur parisien, crit une biographie de Gilles de Rais qui fut accus , au XVe si cle, d'avoir viol et tortur des dizaines d'enfants. Afin de se documenter, Durtal s'entretient avec ses amis d'occultisme, d'astrologie, de spiritisme, de magie... Read Full Overview

L -bas met en sc ne Durtal, personnage double de l'auteur, au moment o il h site encore se convertir, plus pr cis ment au moment o il ne sait pas encore s'il doit se tourner vers Dieu ou vers le Diable. Cette h sitation est repr sent e par les personnages, sur lesquels Huysmans... Read Full Overview