AVAILABLE in JUNE 2010
"This is the novel that made Couperus famous." The
New York Times
"The author’s touch is always delicate and
sure in handling the lights and shades of thought and emotion." The
New York Times Book Review
"Couperus’ sympathy for the hybrid, the
impure and the ambiguous gave him a peculiarly modern voice. It is
extraordinary that this Dutch dandy, writing in the flowery language of
fin-de-siecle decadence, should still sound so fresh." Ian Buruma, The
New York Times Review of Books
"Couperus can fittingly he seen as the Dutch
answer to Oscar Wilde". Duncan Dobbelmann, translator ‘Of Monotony’ by
Couperus, Conjunctions
"The portrait of their unfolding affair is a
masterful observation of the beauty and illogic of romantic love." Times
Literary Supplement
"Couperus binds both irony and spiritual
redemption." The Daily Telegraph
ABOUT THE BOOK
In 1889, Dutch society was enthralled by Eline
Vere, published in weekly installments in the newspaper, it minutely
described the conventions, manners and hypocrisies of society with richness of
description and vivid characterisations.
Eline Vere and her sister Betsy are wealthy young
socialites living in The Hague in the 19th century. Eline attempts to break
free from the confines of her narrow existence through tumultuous and
ultimately disastrous courtships. Eline is not merely a figure of her times but
also a passionate spokesperson, too often foolish and futile. In her
sensibility she is worthy of having one of the richest most satisfying novels
of the late 19th century named after her.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
LOUIS COUPERUS was born in the Hague in 1863.
Following his family’s move to the Dutch East Indies, he was educated in
Jakarta. In 1878 the family returned to The Hague, where Couperus continued his
studies.
He gained prominence in 1889 with Eline Vere,
a psychological novel inspired by the naturalist style of Zola and the
innovative characterizations of Flaubert. His novel Ecstasy was first
published in 1892, followed by Psyche in 1898 and Inevitable in
1900; all available from Pushkin Press.A renowned wit, raconteur and
commentator, Couperus continued to publish critically and commercially
successful work until his death from blood poisoning in 1923.
ABOUT THE TRANSLATOR
Ina Rilke was born in Mozambique in 1943
and brought up in Portugal. She moved to Holland in 1962, where she took a
degree in translation studies. As a translator she has specialised in
archaeology, architecture and history of art. In recent years she has
concentrated on literary translation, for which she was awarded the Vondel
Translation Prize in 1999, the Scott Moncrieff Prize in 2002, and the Flemish
Culture Prize for Translation in 2009.
Translate
by Ina Rilke
Afterword
by Paul Binding
ISBN 9781906548261
540 pages
