In addition to being a brilliant author, Brian Stableford is an accomplished editor and translator. Here he has selected and translated his choice of the 18 best weird tales and contes cruels by French author Armand Blocq (1870-1933), published under his pseudonym Gaston Danville. Check out Brian’s long and informative Introduction for more information. [Published in paperback as The Anatomy of Love and Murder: Psychoanalytical Fantasies.] Included are: THE DAISY REMEMBRANCE FLAT THE MURDERER THE DEPUTY ILLUSORY CARESSES HOW JACQUES COMMITTED SUICIDE THE CLOCK ADRIFT LISBETH THE DARK ANGEL THE DEAD MAN’S DREAM THE LAMP IN VAIN IN ANIMA VILI MOUSMÉ THE STOLEN HEART THE CINQ-BRAS THE EVOLUTION OF LITERATURE (ESSAY) If you enjoy this ebook, don't forget to search your favorite ebook store for "Wildside Press Megapack" to see more of the 300+ volumes in this series, covering adventure, historical fiction, mysteries, westerns, ghost stories, science fiction -- and much, much more!

Long after he was dead, French poet Charles Baudelaire inspired a Decadent Movement in France, which became definitive of fin de siecle sensibility. One of the historical and influential links between Baudelaire and the new Decadents was the Comte de Villiers de l'Isle Adam, who called the first of his own collections of Decadent prose Contes cruels, because they spurned conventional means of attaining literary closure by celebrating 'the irony of fate' -- the capacity that the course of events has for thwarting human ambition in a frankly mocking fashion. "Because it became so firmly linked to the notion of the fin de siecle, the Decadent Movement did not survive the end of the nineteenth century in France and Decadent literature became increasingly unfashionable thereafter -- but it was, by definition, a literary species guaranteed to thrive on its own unfashionability. The stories collected here have been woefully unappreciated, even when they have succeeded in reaching print -- as some have not until now -- but I have never been tempted to abandon the production of such items, and am far fonder of them than I am of many works that proved more economically viable." -- from the author's Introduction. The tales in this collection include: "An Oasis of Horror," "Justice," "The Copper Cauldron," "Nobody Else to Blame," "Heartbeat," "Upon the Gallows-Tree," "The Devil's Men," "The Elixir of Youth," "The Lamia's Soliloquy," "And the Hunter Home from the Hill," "The Riddle of the Sphinx," "My Mother, the Hag," "The Devil's Comedy," and "The Power of Prayer." Never before collected into book form.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Included are Trilby, or the Elf of Argyll, by Charles Nodier, Théophile Gautier's The Amorous Dead Woman, as well as works by Prosper Mérimée, Guy de Maupassant, and Villiers de l'Isle-Adam.