Hauntings

Édouard Dujardin

Translated by Brian Stableford

Hauntings, by Édouard Dujardin (1861-1949), was originally published in French in 1886 and is here presented in its first-ever English translation by Brian Stableford. It appeared one year before the work on which the author’s fame is largely based, Les Lauriers sont coupés, which was the first stream-of-consciousness novel ever written, and which was certainly hugely influential on later writers, such as James Joyce. Demonstrating the manner in which Dujardin developed that technique by stages, while using monologues and biographical commentaries as a means of analyzing and illustrating the psychological phenomenon of obsession, Hauntings is a minor masterpiece of symbolist fiction, specifically of the subgenre that consists of “manic monologues,” few examples of which can compare with its curiosity, intensity and frank perversity.

About the Author
Édouard Dujardin (1861-1949), founded La Revue Wagnérienne in 1885, in collaboration with his friend Teodor de Wyzewa, and subsequently, in 1886 took over direction of the Revue Independante, using his influence to promote Symbolism. He wrote poetry, plays and fiction, his most famous work being the stream-of-consciousness novel Les Lauriers sont coupés (1887). Known as a man of refined taste, especially in clothing, and being a habitué of Paris nightclubs, he earned the reputation as a dandy, and is generally thought to be the man featured with the dancer Jane Avril in “Divan Japonais,” one of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’ s posters for the Folies Bergères.

Paperback, 132 pages. Release date, January 14, 2020
ISBN-13: 978-1-64525-019-7
Price: US$13.50