Bubu of Montparnasse
Paris: Crosby Continental Editions, 1932. Very Good. Item #33170
Paris: Crosby Continental Editions, 1932. First English Language Edition. 12mo (16.2cm); printed paper wraps with French flaps; 218pp. Light wear to edges; spine sunned per usual; brief dampstaining to top edge. Binding sound and pages unmarked. Very Good.
Philippe's novel of the Paris demimonde, inspired by his own experiences, was originally published in French in 1900. In his preface here, Eliot praised the work of this "minor writer," noting "there have been many novels of low life, of metropolitan vice and degradation. Novels of sentimentality, novels of satire, novels of indignation, novels of social reform, novels of prurience. Bubu de Montparnasse succeeds in being none of these... Philippe... is both compassionate and dispassionate; in his book we blame no one, we blame not even a 'social system'; and even the most virtuous, in reading it, may feel: I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word and deed."
Price: $200.00