|
|
"Delphi Fabrice" (the pseudonym of Gaston-Henri-Adhémar
Risselin, 1877-1937), the most adamant of Jean Lorrain's disciples,
is credited with authoring over one hundred books. None, however, is more
bizarre than The Red Spider, here presented in English for the
first time in a virtuoso translation by Brian Stableford. The novel, seeking
to out-Decadent the most decadent of its predecessors, features Andhré
Mordann, an ether-drinking hero seemingly modelled on Lorrain himself,
who, in this "black, black, black tale"-a tale of true horror
and madness-traverses the boulevards of decline, hobnobbing with drunken
prostitutes and homosexual strong-men, licentious merrymakers and waterfront
idlers-and, of course, the dancer gloved in imperial crimson.
Cover by Alexej von Jawlensky
Published by Snuggly Books in April 2021
ISBN: 978-1-64525-062-3
|