Hannibal’s Ring

Jules-Amédée Barbey d’Aurevilly

Translated by Brian Stableford

Written in 1834, but not published until eight years later, in 1842, due to its bizarre style and format, Hannibal’s Ring is one of the most interesting of the early works of Jules-Amédée Barbey d’Aurevilly.

Presented here for the first time in English, in a translation by Brian Stableford, this short novel or extended prose poem is an autobiographical tale of amorous obsession, featuring the protagonist Aloys, who later became a paradigm example of the mind-set of the dandy, and helped to secure the work’s importance as a prototype of Decadent prose.

Tinged with a bitterly jaundiced flavor, this is a story like no other, in more ways than one; readers cannot be required to sympathize with its hero, or even to comprehend him, any more than they can be required to sympathize with and comprehend its author, but they surely ought to find both of them intriguing, and challenging.

About the Author
Jules-Amédée Barbey d’Aurevilly was born in Normandy into a fervently Royalist and Catholic family. The influence of Byron and other pillars of English and German Romanticism on his early poetry and prose was very marked. In 1845 he wrote Du dandysme et de George Brummel, which was followed by several important novels, such as L’Ensorcelée (1852) and Le Chevalier Des Touches (1863). It was not until 1874, however, that his masterpiece Les Diaboliques was released.

His work can be seen as a precursor to the Decadent Movement, and was a major influence on many writers, especially decisive influence on writers such as Auguste Villiers de l’Isle-Adam and Léon Bloy.

Paperback, 98 pages. Release date: December 3, 2019
ISBN13: 978-1-64525-016-6
Price: US$12.00

Hardcover, 124 pages, limited to 60 copies
Release date: December 3, 2019
Price: US$28.00