Remy de Gourmont

Lilith, A Play

Boston: John W. Luce, (1946). Translated from the French by John Heard with an Introduction by Marcel Françon. Small 8vo. 7-3/4" x 5-3/4". Brown laid paper covered boards with red paper spine label. Very good to fine. / Jacket is very good.

This first translation into English of Remy de Gourmont's famous play which originally appeared in 1892 is an important addition to the world of letters.

Remy de Gourmont belonged to the Symbolist group in France which propagated the new esthetic, philosophical, literary and mystical ideas. Until his death in 1915 he guided the organ of the group, the Mercure de France. For him, symbolism was the expression of individualism in art. He applied the term to a literature that is at once idealistic in the philosophical sense and very individualistic.

Lilith is the work of a man who is sharply aware of his sensual nature and intellectual tastes. The play reflects the strange blend of the lascivious and mystical elements of the author himself. Here we have Remy de Gourmont's portrayal of the Creation of man, from the plot against man devised by Satan and the lustful Lilith through the temptation and the expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Although his sources were the Bible, the Apocrypha, and the Talmud, de Gourmont has created his own legend which bears the imprint of his highly imaginative mind.

Item #2218

Price: $60.00