First published in 1902 and immediately assailed for its themes of omnisexual abandon and perverse aestheticism, The Immoralist is the novel that launched André Gide’s reputation as one of France’s most audacious literary stylists, a groundbreaking work that opens the door onto a universe of unfettered impulse whose possibilities still seem exhilarating and shocking. Gide’s protagonist is the frail, scholarly Michel, who, shortly after his wedding, nearly dies of tuberculosis. He recovers only through the ministrations of his wife, Marceline, and his sudden, ruthless determination to live a life unencumbered by God or values. What ensues is a wild flight into the realm of the senses that culminates in a remote outpost in the Sahara—where Michel’s hunger for new experiences at any cost bears lethal consequences. The Immoralist is a book with the power of an erotic fever dream—lush, prophetic, and eerily seductive.

A travelling hedonist attempts to transcend the limitations of conventional morality by surrendering to his appetites in this well-known work by a master of modern French literature. Much acclaimed for his perception and purity of style, André Gide (1869-1951) received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1947. In The Immoralist, his classic examination of individual freedom and identity, he fuses autobiographical elements with both biblical and classical symbolism. Stanley Appelbaum skillfully preserves the passion and intensity of the original in his new English translation.

Set in an Algerian village, a young man, Michel, challenges the prevailing morality in his search for self-fulfillment.

Superb novel deals with the consequences of amoral hedonism in the story of a man who tries to rise above good and evil and give free rein to his passions.& Introductory Note. Map. Footnotes.

First published in 1902 and immediately assailed for its themes of omnisexual abandon and perverse aestheticism, The Immoralist is the novel that launced André Gide's reputation as one of France's most audacious literary stylists, a groundbreaking work that opens the door onto a universe of unfettered impulse whose possibilities still seem exhilarating and shocking. Gide's protagonist is the frail, scholarly Michel, who shortly after his wedding nearly dies of tuberculosis. He recovers only through the ministrations of his wife, Marceline, and his sudden, ruthless determination to live a life unencumbered by God or values. What ensues is a wild flight into the realm of the senses that culminates in a reomote outpost in the Sahara--where Michel's hunger for new experiences at any cost bears lethal consequences. The Immoralist is a book with the power of an erotic fever dream--lush, prophetic, and eerily seductive.

André Paul Guillaume Gide (1869-1951), known as André Gide, was a renowned French writer. Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1947 and founder of the prestigious publishing house Gallimard, André Gide is the author of memorable books such as "The Immoralist," "If It Die...," "Strait is the Gate," and "The Counterfeiters," among others. His work contains many autobiographical elements and explores moral, religious, and sexual conflicts. " The Immoralist" is a parable about the dialectic between nature and morality, as well as a reflection on the unfolding of individual freedom. A thought-provoking work that still retains its power to challenge complacent attitudes and unfounded cultural assumptions, it narrates the attempt of a young Parisian to overcome social and sexual conformity. " The Immoralist" is included in the famous critical selection: "1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die."

In 1907 Andre Gide began work on a series of Socratic dialogues on the subject of homosexuality and its place in society. These were published piecemeal, without the author's name, in private editions of twelve copies (1911) and twenty-one copies (1920) before a signed, commercial edition finally appeared in France in 1924. In his preface to the first American edition--published in 1950, the year before his death--Gide says: "Corydon remains in my opinion the most important of my books."