Flowers of Ether
Delphi Fabrice
Translated by Brian Stableford
Delphi Fabrice’ s Flowers of Ether, originally appearing as a serial in the “literary supplement” of the daily newspaper La Lanterne, and here rediscovered and translated by Brian Stableford, is, without question, one of the most outrageous entries into the canon of the Decadent Movement.
At once an extremely unreliable gossip column, a lost gay novel, and one of the author’s more brazen attempts at sensationalism, Flowers of Ether revolves around the adventures of the perverse and mysterious Jean des Glaïeuls, amidst theatres and salons, fortifs and lesbian bordellos.
Exploring the seamier side of Parisian social life at the turn of the previous century, Fabrice’s novel, replete with bizarre personalities, drug use, orgies and dubious romances, is an intriguing and highly readable text, the perfume of which will intoxicate despite its depravity.
About the Author
“Delphi Fabrice” (the pseudonym of Gaston-Henri-Adhémar Risselin, 1877-1937) began his literary career as an art critic with Les Peintres de Bretagne (1898), before becoming involved in the Decadent Movement, under the aesthetic of which he composed a number of works, including L’Araignée rouge (1903), the one-act drama Clair de lune (1903), which was co-written by Jean Lorrain, Fabrice’s mentor, and La sorcier rouge (1910). Under the need for money, he gradually turned his attention romance novels, novels of adventure geared towards a juvenile audience, and “cine-novels” (adaptations of films into photo-novels). In all, he is credited with writing over 120 books.
About the Translator
Brian Stableford has been publishing fiction and non-fiction for fifty years. His fiction includes a series of “tales of the biotech revolution” and a series of metaphysical fantasies featuring Edgar Poe’s Auguste Dupin. He has previously translated for Snuggly Books a number of titles, including The Soul-Drinker and Other Decadent Fantasies, by Jean Lorrain, and The Unknown Collaborator and Other Legendary Tales, by Victor Joly.
Paperback, 194 pages
Release date, July 6, 2021
ISBN-13: 978-1-64525-070-8
USA: $16.00
Hardcover, 196 pages. Limited edition of 100 copies.
Release date, July 6, 2021
USA: $31.00