THE GOTHIC SETTING of a lonely castle in the middle of thick, dense woods contrasts with the contempo- raneity of the characters who inhabit it: a dissolute, rich and aimless young man who invites his best friend to stay in his newly-acquired chateau. The friend arrives not alone, but with a beautiful woman whose detached amorality disturbs both men.

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JULIEN GRACQ (the pseudonym of LOUIS Poirier), was born in 1910 and became a teacher of history and geography at a Paris lycee. In 1939 he met Andre Brelon and though influenced by the Surrealists he established his own style of expressive and rich prose. He resolutely refuses to be part of the French literary scene over which he has had so much influence, having refused the Prix Goncourt in 1951.

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TRANSLATED BY Louise Varese
Cover illustration by Orsina Sforza
ISBN 1-901285-14-6 • 148pp • £8 / $14