The Witch of Ecbatana
and
The Virgin of Israel
Jane de La Vaudère
Translated by Brian Stableford
Jane de La Vaudère (1857-1908) was undoubtedly one of the most fascinating writers of the Decadent Movement, and here, presented for the first time in English, in translations by Brian Stableford, are two of her best novels—both part of her highly original moeurs antiques sequence.
The first, The Witch of Ecbatana, which was originally published in 1906, takes place during the time of Darius the Great. It follows, in pungent, rainbow-hued prose, the amorous adventures of Nysista, a disciple of the witch Zaroccha, as she subjects herself to the mercenary love of Arynes, the satrap’s son.
The second, The Virgin of Israel, originally published in 1907, is a pseudohistorical biblical romance in which the young and beautiful Phédyne is seduced by an enigmatic stranger who involves her in an all-consuming passion with horrible consequences.
As love stories go, the two offered here, firmly planted in the field of Decadent Symbolism, are certainly among the most intense in literature, written as they are with a variety of creative energy that was unique to their author.
About the Author
Jane de La Vaudère was baptized Jeanne Scrive and was married to Camille Gaston Crapez, who began styling himself Crapez de La Vaudère after inheriting the Château de La Vaudère from his mother. Her prolific literary work is very various but she was assimilated to the Decadent Movement firstly because of two scandalously scabrous Parisian novels, Les Demi-Sexes (1897) and Les Andrognyes (1903), and, more pertinently, because of a series of accounts of moeurs antiques, some of which—notably Le Mystère de Kama (1901)—set new standards of excess.
About the Translator
Brian Stableford has been publishing fiction and non-fiction for fifty years. His fiction includes a series of “tales of the biotech revolution” and a series of metaphysical fantasies featuring Edgar Poe’s Auguste Dupin. He has previously translated for Snuggly Books a number of titles, including The Soul-Drinker and Other Decadent Fantasies by Jean Lorrain, and The Unknown Collaborator and Other Legendary Tales by Victor Joly.
Other books by Jane de La Vaudère :
The Demi-Sexes and The Androgynes
The Double Star and Other Occult Fantasies
The Mystery of Kama and Brahma’s Courtesans
Syta’s Harem and Pharaoh’s Lover
Three Flowers and the King of Siam’s Amazon
Paperback, 316 pages. Release date: February 9, 2021
ISBN-13:978-1-64525-052-4
Price: US$24.00
Hardcover, 318 pages. Limited edition to 70 copies
Release date: February 9, 2021
Price: US$38.00