A Baedeker of decadence : charting a literary fashion, 1884-1927

During the final decades of the nineteenth century, a common mind-set emerged among many intellectuals—“la décadence.” Many novels and novellas of the period were populated with protagonists who were fragile, refined, self-absorbed, and preoccupied with a trivially exquisite aesthetic. A Baedeker of Decadence presents thirty-two international works of literary decadence written between 1884 and 1927. George C. Schoolfield, a world authority on the decadent novel, offers an entertaining and wide-ranging commentary on this highly significant literary and cultural phenomenon. Schoolfield tracks down the symptoms of decadence in narrative works written in more than a dozen languages, providing synopses and passages in English translation to give a sense of each author’s style and tone. Schoolfield throws new light on the close intellectual kinship of authors from August Strindberg to Bram Stoker to Thomas Mann, and on the ingredients, themes, motifs, and preconceptions that characterized decadent literature. During the final decades of the nineteenth century, a common mind-set emerged among many intellectuals—“la décadence.” Many novels and novellas of the period were populated with protagonists who were fragile, refined, self-absorbed, and preoccupied with a trivially exquisite aesthetic. __A Baedeker of Decadence__ presentsthirty-two international works of literary decadence written between 1884 and 1927. George C. Schoolfield, a world authority on the decadent novel, offers an entertaining and wide-ranging commentary on this highly significant literary and cultural phenomenon. Schoolfield tracks down the symptoms of decadence in narrative works written in more than a dozen languages, providing synopses and passages in English translation to give a sense of each author’s style and tone. Schoolfield throws new light on the close intellectual kinship of authors from August Strindberg to Bram Stoker to Thomas Mann, and on the ingredients, themes, motifs, and preconceptions that characterized decadent literature. Contents 7 Baedekers 9 Preface 13 1. France: Joris-Karl Huysmans 17 2. Ireland: George Moore 32 3. Italy: Gabriele D’Annunzio 45 4. Sweden: August Strindberg 59 5. England: Oscar Wilde 74 6. Holland: Louis Couperus 87 7. Norway: Arne Garborg 101 8. Belgium: Georges Rodenbach 116 9. Poland/Prussia: Stanislaw Przybyszewski 133 10. Finland: Karl August Tavaststjerna 148 11. Ireland: Edith Oenone Somerville and Violet Martin Ross 163 12. Austria: Leopold von Andrian, Rainer Maria Rilke 180 13. Poland/Prussia: Stanislaw Przybyszewski 198 14. Wales: Arthur Machen 214 15. England: Bram Stoker 231 16. Portugal: José Maria Eça de Queirós 249 17. Spain: Ramón María del Valle-Inclán 263 18. Germany: Thomas Mann 283 19. Sweden: Oscar Levertin, Gustaf af Geijerstam, Hjalmar Söderberg, Kjell Strömberg 302 20. Denmark: Herman Bang 321 21. Australia: Henry Handel Richardson 343 22. The United States: James Gibbons Huneker 372 23. Iceland: Halldór Kiljan Laxness 389 Bibliography 417 Index 425 "A Baedeker of Decadence presents an international collection of thirty-two works of literary decadence written between 1884 and 1927. George C. Schoolfield, a world authority on the decadent novel, offers an entertaining and wide-ranging commentary on the many strands of this highly significant literary and cultural phenomenon."--Jacket