Aubrey Beardsley's unfinished novella from 1895 explores the legendary relationship between Tannhäuser and Venus, unfolding an erotic fantasy. Initially dismissed by critics as an expression of decadent frivolity, the work is now regarded as a significant example of narrative art from the Fin de siècle, reflecting the cultural currents of its time.
John Glassco Books
December 15, 1909 – January 29, 1981
John Glassco was a Canadian poet, memoirist, novelist, and translator. He will be remembered for his brilliant autobiography, his elegant, classical poems, his translations, and his erotica. Glassco's work is distinguished by its refined style and classical form, marking him as a significant figure in Canadian literature. His writing often explored profound human emotions and experiences with a unique sensitivity.
Memoirs of Montparnasse is a delicious book about being young, restless, reckless, and without a care in the world. It is also the best and liveliest of the many chronicles of 1920s Paris and the exploits of the lost generation. In 1928, nineteen-year-old John Glassco escaped Montreal and his overbearing father for the wilder shores of Montparnasse. He remained there until his money ran out and his health collapsed, and he enjoyed every minute of his stay. Remarkable for their candor and humor, Glassco’s memoirs have the daft logic of a wild but utterly absorbing adventure, a tale of desire set free that is only faintly shadowed by sadness at the inevitable passage of time.