For Reading in the Bath

Catulle Mendès

Translated by Brian Stableford

For Reading in the Bath, here presented in English for the first time in a delightful translation by Brian Stableford, is one of a number of risqué collections of ultra-short fiction produced by Catulle Mendès (1841-1909) during the fin de siècle.

Always poetic, often perverse, and sometimes even chaste, these highly amusing, masterfully constructed tales of amour and immorality, featuring a large cast of Parisian characters, including the ubiquitous Valentin and the many women he pursues, are confections of great artistry that will be happily savored by anyone with a longing for suggestive treats.

About the Author
Catulle Mendès (1841–1909) was a French man of letters and the protégé of Théophile Gautier, whose daughter, Judith, he married, though their relationship did not last long. In 1860 he founded La Revue fantaisiste, publishing such authors as Villiers de l’Isle-Adam and Charles Baudelaire. He gained the reputation as a sensualist after his Le Roman d’une Nuit, which appeared in the same review in 1867, was condemned as immoral, and he was sentenced to a month’s imprisonment and a fine of 500 francs for publishing it.

He wrote voluminously—plays, poetry, essays, novels, and short stories. Friedrich Nietzsche dedicated his Dionysian-Dithyrambs to Mendès, celebrating him as “the greatest and first satyr alive today—not just today . . .”

PublishersWeekly review: For Reading in the Bath

Paperback, 144 pages. Release date: April 16, 2019
ISBN-13: 978-1-943813-88-9
Price: US$15.50

Hardcover, 146 pages. Limited edition of 60 copies
Release date: April 16, 2019
Price: US$28.00