Auguste de Villiers de L'Isle-Adam

Writer

French Symbolist and Decadent author (1838–1889) known for Contes cruels and L'Ève future.

Villiers de l'Isle-Adam (1838–1889) was a French writer associated with Symbolism and Decadence. His Contes cruels (Cruel Tales, 1883) mixes gothic atmosphere, irony and varied registers. He is noted for questioning Naturalist doctrines and for a style often described as sumptuous and darkly imaginative. He is referenced in J.-K. Huysmans' A Rebours (Des Esseintes).

The review praises Villiers de l'Isle-Adam's sumptuous, velvety style and dark irony. It presents Contes cruels (Cruel Tales, 1883) as his most representative work. The reviewer highlights Villiers' blending of dream and reality and his critique of Naturalism. Comparisons are drawn to Baudelaire, Poe and Flaubert in different registers. Overall a recommendation to rediscover a visionary, underappreciated author.

For:Readers of 19th-century French Decadent and Symbolist literature; fans of gothic short stories and critical essays.

 Why do we call the images and sensations we see and experience while awake "reality"?

  Discover the review

This artist has no image.
Please send one!

Loading

Oh no! This artist is not in any charts. Why don't you add them yourself using the button below

You and Auguste de Villiers de L'Isle-Adam
Who knows Auguste de Villiers de L'Isle-Adam?
Loading...