The Road from Decadence: From Brothel to Cloister: Selected Letters of J.K. Huysmans

by Joris-Karl Huysmans, Barbara Beaumont (Editor)

Personal correspondence of the French novelist from 1876 to 1907, commenting on literature, art, the press, the church, the Dreyfus affair, America, and modernism. Many of the 200 letters are translated and published here for the first time. Drawn from the Pierre Lambert collection and the archives of the abbey where Huysmans settled late in life. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

300 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1989

About the author

Charles Marie Georges Huysmans was a French novelist who published his works as Joris-Karl Huysmans. AKA: J.-K. Huysmans.

He is most famous for the novel À rebours (Against Nature). His style is remarkable for its idiosyncratic use of the French language, wide-ranging vocabulary, wealth of detailed and sensuous description, and biting, satirical wit.

The novels are also noteworthy for their encyclopedic documentation, ranging from the catalogue of decadent Latin authors in À rebours to the discussion of the symbiology of Christian architecture in La cathédrale. Huysmans' work expresses a disgust with modern life and a deep pessimism, which led the author first to the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer then to the teachings of the Catholic Church.

Reviews

[Fred Dameron · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have enjoyed Huysmans writing since I read La-Bas, but I wondered what type of mind imagines the scenes in a work like La-Bas. This collection of letters tell's one what was in his mind during many of his works. If you enjoy late 19the Century French decadent writers and want to get somewhat inside their heads, this is a great read.