Against Nature
By Joris-Karl Huysmans
Introduction by Patrick McGuinness, Notes by Patrick McGuinness
The original handbook of decadence - has enjoyed a cult readership since its publication, with fans including Oscar Wilde and Marianne Faithfull
The hero of this curious novel is des Esseintes, a neurasthenic aristocrat who has turned his back on the vulgarity of modern life and retreated to an isolated country villa. Here, accompanied only by a couple of silent servants, he pursues his obsessions with exotic flowers, rare gems, and complex perfumes and embarks on a series of increasingly strange aesthetic experiments, starting with the decision to give his giant pet tortoise a jewel-encrusted shell...
- ISBN:
- 9780140447637
- Format:
- Paperback / softback
- Pages:
- 288
- Published:
- Publisher:
- Penguin Books Ltd
- Imprint:
- Penguin Classics
- Weight:
- 215 g