Auguste de Villiers de L'Isle-Adam

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.