Decadence: Obscure literature of the fin de siecle and Belle Epoque - and other literary obsession

My Blue Notebooks (Tacher) is one of three books available in English by fin de siècle demimonde celebrity and author Liane de Pougy. The other two are her semi-autobiographical first and second novels, L’insaisissable and Idylle saphique . My Blue Notebooks are de Pougy’s posthumously published journals/memoirs, and they are a fantastic read, an engrossing time capsule, and the compelling spiritual journey of a woman who lived more life than twenty people combined. When she began journaling in 1919, de Pougy’s life as one of Paris’ most feted courtesans was behind her. Almost a decade earlier, she’d formed a romantic relationship with Prince Georges Ghika of Romania, and they were married. de Pougy was 41 and he was 24 so, even in the honorable institution of marriage, she managed to scandalize. de Pougy, however, seems to have been remarkably grounded about the whole thing.  As one reads My Blue Notebooks , it’s easy to see why. Not much would faze someone whose life was a rev...

As mentioned in a prior post, my path into Decadent literature was partially through reading Modernist works by openly - or as open as they could be - gay men. French avant-garde author Andre Gide (1869 - 1951) was one such. He had an additional draw in that he influenced modern masters like Sartre and Camus. The Immoralist (1902) was the first Gide novel I’d read (Modern Library edition, translated by Richard Howard). Aside from being a brilliant writer, Gide's life - even in overview - is a fascinating story of a man who continually found himself outside the norms of society and culture norms. A gay man who enjoyed an active romantic life, despite the bigotry of the time, he married a woman in an apparently asexual relationship and had a brief affair with Oscar Wilde in 1895. After a period of intellectual inactivity, he founded a literary magazine in 1908. In 1916, when Gide was 47, he left his wife for a 15-year-old boy. They were together for 11 years and travelled through Afr...

As mentioned in a previous post, J.-K. Huysmans’ novel A rebours ( Against Nature or Against the Grain ) is widely regarded as perhaps the key moment in the development of Decadent literature. While there were novels about dandies and their cynical angst before it, A rebours seems to have fully crystallized the Decadent trope of a wealthy, cultured dandy as an alienated commentator on fin de siècle society.  Given the impact of A rebours , it occurred to me - as a side project in my decadent reading frenzy - to read Huysmans’ novels in their order of publication to see if I could track his progression from Naturalist disciple to Decadent firestarter. This might provide some insight into the development of the Decadent movement, as well as where and how Decadent literature broke away from Naturalism and the other schools that came before it. My project didn’t start well. Huysmans’ first book, Le drageoir aux épices (1874), is not available in English. However, it was a collectio...

Understanding a movement of literature is often aided by understanding the times in which it was written: the psychology of people, politics, cultural trends, etc. This is especially true of fin de siècle literature which was most definitely a product of its time. The Milwaukee Art Museum currently has this Jules Chéret exhibition on display, and I was able to see it during a recent trip to the city. Chéret was a leader and innovator of poster art and printing in Paris during the fin de siècle and early 20th Century. In providing context for Chéret’s work and its impact, the exhibition crystallizes several insights into the gestalt of the period. For example, new processes had cut printing costs way down which allowed for mass production of posters for use in advertising. In short order, posters were used to promote shows, products, and retailers. Each poster was quickly out of date and disposable. The effect of this is illustrated by a painting shown in the exhibition. It depicts a me...