Jane de la Vaudère Book order

Set against the backdrop of late 19th-century Paris, this collection showcases over one hundred vignettes by Jane de La Vaudère, a pioneering female author in a male-dominated literary world. Her stories, rich in themes of beauty, horror, humor, love, and cruelty, exemplify narrative minimalism, presenting a unique and polished perspective on contemporary society. Translated by Brian Stableford, this work not only provides insight into the era's culture but also serves as an influential model for modern storytelling techniques.

Exceedingly rare, even in the original French, and here translated for the first time into English by Brian Stableford, The Priestesses of Mylitta, first published in 1907, is Jane de La Vaudère's Babylon-set novel of decadence and amour. Revolving around the cult of the eponymous goddess, whose worship consists, in part, of newly married women delivering themselves to haphazard lovers, the story, which was very probably the author's last completed work, is one of both tenderness and torture, brutal bloodshed and the adoration held in delicious kisses. There is nothing half-hearted about The Priestesses of Mylitta, and no sign that La Vaudère was not as intensely emotionally involved with the project as she generally seemed to be; and the book, doused as it is with homicidal horrors and permeated with the incense of love, will surely delight all fans of her wonderful creations.

Focusing on the Decadent Movement, this collection features two of Jane de La Vaudère's notable novels, translated into English for the first time by Brian Stableford. These works are part of her unique moeurs antiques sequence, showcasing her intriguing narrative style and exploration of themes relevant to her era. De La Vaudère's writing offers a captivating glimpse into the complexities of her characters and the societal norms of her time.

Presented here for the first time in English, in a superb translation by Brian Stableford, are The Mystery of Kama and Brahama's Courtesans, two outrageous, full-length novels from the pen of Jane de La Vaudère. In this pair of India-set adventures, the eccentric author pulls out all the stops, filling the pages with garish eroticism and gruesome cruelty, telling two tales of extreme amour--of Love that embodies both the idea of Paradise and the idea of the Inferno. Replete with over-the-top exoticism, outlandish magic, and purely physical horror, these bizarre fantasies of sublime exaltation and ultimate torment are some of the most unusual documents of French literature. The Mystery of Kama and Brahma's Courtesans were ground-breaking in several ways, and remain startling even after a century in which the literary ground in question has been thoroughly and repeatedly plowed.

Renowned for her provocative Parisian novels and explorations of ancient customs, Jane de La Vaudère emerged as a distinctive voice of the fin de siècle. Her works, particularly "Le Mystère de Kama," pushed boundaries and established new levels of excess in literature, reflecting both scandal and cultural critique.