August Villiers de L'Isle-Adam

[crusoe]

28 November 1838 - 19 August 1889

Through the years I read his Story „Vera“ many times and I am still
fascinated. He was a writer of strange stories and dramas. Others called
him an occultist and philosopher.

http://gaslight.mtroyal.ca/vera.htm

The man is worth a closer Look or two…

[Kafka's Crow]

Thanks for the link Crusoe. Let me finish The House on the Borderland then I will read this one. I have heard of de l'Isle-Adam but can't recall the context. Have a look at The House on the Borderland if you are interested in horror and the occult:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/House-Borderland-Pocket-Penguin-Classics/dp/0141038748/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1342453023&sr=8-1

[crusoe]

Thanks for the link Crusoe. Let me finish The House on the Borderland then I will read this one. I have heard of de l'Isle-Adam but can't recall the context. Have a look at The House on the Borderland if you are interested in horror and the occult:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/House-Borderland-Pocket-Penguin-Classics/dp/0141038748/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1342453023&sr=8-1

William Hope Hodgson...one of my alltime Favourites. CARNACKI THE GHOSTFINDER, oh how I love his Writing. Thanks a lot for mentioning him and for the Link. That means, he won't be forgotten. :driving:

[Des Essientes]

Villiers d'Isle Adam is one of my favorite writers. His play Axel has my favorite line in all of French drama "Vivre? Les serviteurs feront cela pour nous." !!!!!! There is nothing cooler than that! His novel "The Future Eve" is also very entertaining and thoughtful. He is best known for his "Contents Cruel" short story collection and they are brilliant as well.

His own life is like an interesting story too. He was descended from an illustrious family. One of his ancestors was the Grand-Master of the Knights of Malta and successfully defended the island fom a Turkish invasion force of over 100,000 troops, but Villiers himself was impoverished and he wrote his stories laying on his stomach to squelch hunger pains in abandoned buildings. Once a nightwatchman found him sleeping and ground his boot into his face! But Villiers remained super cool and aristocratic. His rank allowed him to get into the best parties and once at a soiree requiring white gloves he showed up bare handed and during the party a mean lady asked him where he'd gotten his "beautiful gloves" from and he responded immediately by saying "from my mother." His life ended in a strange and sad way too.

I highly recommend reading everything you can find from Villiers, unfortunately English translations of his works are not in the public domain yet and so I cannot provide you with any links.

[crusoe]

Villiers d'Isle Adam is one of my favorite writers. His play Axel has my favorite line in all of French drama "Vivre? Les serviteurs feront cela pour nous." !!!!!! There is nothing cooler than that! His novel "The Future Eve" is also very entertaining and thoughtful. He is best known for his "Contents Cruel" short story collection and they are brilliant as well.

His own life is like an interesting story too. He was descended from an illustrious family. One of his ancestors was the Grand-Master of the Knights of Malta and successfully defended the island fom a Turkish invasion force of over 100,000 troops, but Villiers himself was impoverished and he wrote his stories laying on his stomach to squelch hunger pains in abandoned buildings. Once a nightwatchman found him sleeping and ground his boot into his face! But Villiers remained super cool and aristocratic. His rank allowed him to get into the best parties and once at a soiree requiring white gloves he showed up bare handed and during the party a mean lady asked him where he'd gotten his "beautiful gloves" from and he responded immediately by saying "from my mother." His life ended in a strange and sad way too.

I highly recommend reading everything you can find from Villiers, unfortunately English translations of his works are not in the public domain yet and so I cannot provide you with any links.

Thank you so much. I couldn't find much yet...a few Stories in public domain and a few books to buy. However, he's immortal in "my Book". Have a nice day.