Dimensions
129 x 198 x 24mm
A wildly original fin-de-siecle novel, Against Nature follows its sole character, Des Esseintes, a decadent, ailing aristocrat who retreats to an isolated villa where he indulges his taste for luxury and excess. Veering between nervous excitability and debilitating ennui, he gluts his aesthetic appetites with classical literature and art, exotic jewels (with which he fatally encrusts the shell of his tortoise), rich perfumes, and a kaleidoscope of sensual experiences. The original handbook of decadence, Against Nature exploded "like a grenade" (in the words of its author) and has enjoyed a cult readership from its publication to the present day. AUTHOR: J.K. Huysmans (1847-1907) became famous with the publication of Against Nature in 1884. This is the seventh book by J.K. Huysmans to be published by Dedalus. Also available are La-Bas (1891), En Route (1895), The Cathedral (1898), The Oblate of St Bebedict (1903), Parisian Sketches (1880), Marthe (1876) and Robert Baldick's brilliant The Life of J. K. Huysmans was published by Dedalus in 2005.
