Fards and Poisons

Jean Lorrain

Translated by Brian Stableford

Fards and Poisons, originally published in 1903 and here made available for the first time in English in a translation by Brian Stableford, is one of the more eccentric works of the ever-eccentric Jean Lorrain.

Defying the standard narrative expectations of short stories, the items in this volume might be seen as a series of gossipy character sketches, of actresses and mystics, gigolos and dowagers, of an entire rogues gallery of fin-de-siècle types, which help explain how the author gained a reputation for corrupting public morals by literary means.

Resembling fragments excised from a kind of endless series of conversations, the result is a strange literary collage that is perhaps the most quintessential of Lorrain’ s works: the slice of his life that pins his own literary persona most precisely, like a lepidopterist’s long pin.

Included in the current volume, and for the first time republished since its initial appearance in Le Journal, is also the short story “Victim”, for which Lorrain was disastrously sued, and convicted of, libel, the court imposing a massive punitive fine on the author and sentencing him to two months imprisonment, though the rulings were later overturned.

About the Author
Jean Lorrain (1855-1906) was the pseudonym of Paul Alexandre Martin Duval. He was one of the leading figures of the Decadent Movement and the author of numerous novels, volumes of poetry and short stories. At one point he was probably the highest paid journalist in France. Though mostly remembered today for his famous duel with Marcel Proust, he might be seen as the true chronicler of the fin-de-siècle. His short story collections Nightmares of an Ether-Drinker and The Soul-Drinker and Other Decadent Fantasies were previously published by Snuggly Books.

Paperback, 296 pages. Release date: October 22, 2019
ISBN-13: 978-1-64525-012-8
Price: US$20.50

Hardcover, 298 pages. Limited edition of 80 copies
Release date: October 22, 2019
Price: US$37.00