En rade
Encyclopedia
En rade is a novel by the French
writer Joris-Karl Huysmans
. It first appeared as a serial in the magazine La revue indépendante between November 1886 and April 1887. It was published in book form on 26 April, 1887 by Tresse et Stock. En rade followed Huysmans' most famous novel, A rebours
, and was a commercial failure since neither critics nor the public could understand its mixture of brutal realism and fantasy. Later on, the Surrealists
were more appreciative and André Breton
included extracts from the novel in his Anthology of Black Humour.
work. Jacques Marles seeks refuge from his Paris
ian creditors with his wife Louise in a dilapidated château in the village of Lourps. Far from finding contentment in an idyllic summer landscape, the couple discover the countryside is grotesque and diseased. The local peasants are greedy, cunning and obsessed with money. The novel documents the petty irritations and disappointments of the Marleses' day-to-day existence. Interspersed with these realistic descriptions are three dream sequences, recounting Jacques' fantasies in a highly Decadent
style influenced by Baudelaire's Les paradis artificiels and (possibly) the poems of Lautréamont.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
writer Joris-Karl Huysmans
Joris-Karl Huysmans
Charles-Marie-Georges Huysmans was a French novelist who published his works as Joris-Karl Huysmans . He is most famous for the novel À rebours...
. It first appeared as a serial in the magazine La revue indépendante between November 1886 and April 1887. It was published in book form on 26 April, 1887 by Tresse et Stock. En rade followed Huysmans' most famous novel, A rebours
À rebours
À rebours is a novel by the French writer Joris-Karl Huysmans...
, and was a commercial failure since neither critics nor the public could understand its mixture of brutal realism and fantasy. Later on, the Surrealists
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
were more appreciative and André Breton
André Breton
André Breton was a French writer and poet. He is known best as the founder of Surrealism. His writings include the first Surrealist Manifesto of 1924, in which he defined surrealism as "pure psychic automatism"....
included extracts from the novel in his Anthology of Black Humour.
Plot
Very little happens in this avowedly anti-RomanticRomanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
work. Jacques Marles seeks refuge from his Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
ian creditors with his wife Louise in a dilapidated château in the village of Lourps. Far from finding contentment in an idyllic summer landscape, the couple discover the countryside is grotesque and diseased. The local peasants are greedy, cunning and obsessed with money. The novel documents the petty irritations and disappointments of the Marleses' day-to-day existence. Interspersed with these realistic descriptions are three dream sequences, recounting Jacques' fantasies in a highly Decadent
Decadent movement
The Decadent movement was a late 19th century artistic and literary movement of Western Europe. It flourished in France, but also had devotees in England and throughout Europe, as well as in the United States.-Overview:...
style influenced by Baudelaire's Les paradis artificiels and (possibly) the poems of Lautréamont.
Translations
- Translated as Becalmed by Terry Hale (Atlas Press, 1993)
- Translated as A Haven in The Decadent Reader, edited by Asti Hustvedt (Zone Press, 1999)
- Translated as Stranded by Brendan King (Dedalus European Classics, 2010)
Sources
- Huysmans Romans Volume One (Bouquins, Robert Laffont, 2005)
- Robert Baldick: The Life of J.-K. Huysmans (originally published by Oxford University Press, 1955; revised by Brendan King, Dedalus Press, 2006)