La Batarde

An obsessive and revealing self-portrait of a remarkable woman humiliated by the circumstances of her birth and by her physical appearance, La Btarde relates Violette Leduc's long search for her own identity through a series of agonising and passionate love affairs with both men and women.

When first published, La Btarde earned Violette Leduc comparisons to Jean Genet for the frank depiction of her sexual escapades and immoral behaviour. A confession that contains portraits of several famous French authors, this book is more than just a scintillating memoir - like that of Henry Miller, Leduc's brilliant writing style and attention to language transform this autobiography into a work of art.