Contes Cruels. Auguste Villiers de L'Isle-Adam. Paris: Calmann Levy, Editeur, 1883. First edition, f
Contes Cruels. Auguste Villiers de L'Isle-Adam. Paris: Calmann Levy, Editeur, 1883. First edition, first issue. “Mixed collection including supernatural tales, scientific romances and morbid studies, somewhat after the manner of Poe, but distinctively Villiers throughout. Ironic, layered, densely textured pieces that allude more than they state, standing on the watershed between Poe and the Decadents and modern psychological horror. The calculated intention of these contes cruels is to shock and disturb, in order to subvert the reader’s sense of complacency, and safety. This remains a very contemporary agenda, on the whole.” -- source link
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