Product Description
"I travel for the sake of traveling, to escape from myself and others. I travel to make a dream come true, quite simply, or to change skin if you like."

In May 1840, Théophile Gautier, the enfant terrible of the French Romantic movement, set off by coach from Paris for a journey to Spain. Hired by the journal La Presse to send back regular installments of his travelogue, Gautier recorded his experiences and impressions with extraordinary vividness and enthusiasm. The end result was the book Voyage en Espagne (1845), an enthralling piece of travel writing later translated into English as A Romantic in Spain.

For Gautier, Spain promised the allure of an exotic and passionate culture; it was a revelation, he said later, like discovering his true home, the native land of his spirit. From the searing heat of the central plains of La Mancha, he journeyed to the olive groves and historic cities of Andalusia. Observing the vibrant street life of Madrid, he also explored the secret courtyards and Moorish buildings of Seville and Córdoba. Moving slowly by carriage, mule or wagon through Spain's vast landscapes, Gautier came into contact with a rich panoply of people and places. Endlessly curious, he wrote with verve about architecture, bullfighting, costume and women, especially the manolas of Madrid and the cigareras of Seville who were also to inspire Mérimée's Carmen.

By turns lyrical and acerbic, Gautier's narrative reveals a Spain in transition, emerging from civil war and a feudal past into the modern world. It was a country plagued by bandits, where Gautier endured fly-blown cafés and flea-ridden inns, but his passion for Spanish architecture, landscape, and music remained undimmed throughout his five-month journey. Even today, visitors to places as different as El Escorial or the Alhambra will appreciate the freshness and incisiveness of his writing. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Travel in Spain in the 1840s
A French journalist and writer of non-journalistic pieces as well recounts travel by coach, almost always pulled by mules, through Spain. He talks about inns, the food, the heat, especially in the south, and observes how the customs concerning relationships between men and women are different than in France. He actually likes the Spanish customs better than those at home. He is sorry to see the Spanish women dressing like the French ones and giving up their wonderful regional dresses. ... Read more

Product Description
The book has no illustrations or index. Purchasers are entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Subjects: Fiction / Fairy Tales, Folklore ... Read more

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing’s Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

Product Description
Romantic provocateur, flamboyant bohemian, precocious novelist, perfect poet—not to mention an inexhaustible journalist, critic, and man-about-town—Théophile Gautier is one of the major figures, and great characters, of French literature.

In My Fantoms Richard Holmes, the celebrated biographer of Shelley and Coleridge, has found a brilliantly effective new way to bring this great bu too-little-known writer into English.My Fantoms assembles seven stories spanning the whole of Gautier’s career into a unified work that captures the essence of his adventurous life andsubtle art. From the erotic awakening of “The Adolescent” through “The Poet,” a piercing recollection of the mad genius Gérard de Nerval, the great friend of Gautier’s youth, My Fantoms celebrates the senses and illuminates the strange disguises of the spirit, while taking readers on a tour of modernity at its most mysterious. ”What ever would the Devil find to do in Paris?” Gautier wonders. “He would meet people just as diabolical as he, and find himself taken for some naïve provincial…”

Tapestries, statues, and corpses come to life; young men dream their way into ruin; and Gautier keeps his faith in the power of imagination: “No one is truly dead, until they are no longer loved.” ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Gautier's Demons
The New York Review of Books publishers continue their great series of classics revivals with My Fantoms by Theophile Gautier. The short stories were published in France from 1832 to 1867 and are wonderfully introduced, translated, and updated by Richard Holmes. The stories involve the undead and unholy manipulating and interfering with the lives of adolescents, painters, clergy, journalists, actors, tourists, and poets.

Gautier's style is romantic, humorous, and ironic and quickly involves the reader in the fantasies of the characters. These fantasies often occur in dreams that lead to temporary or permanent madness. They are worth the stress, though, because of the sexual ecstasy and obsessive love that often result.

There is a fundamental tension in each story between the characters' rational work and irrational experiences. Holmes points out in the Introduction that the tension is somewhat autobiographical. Gautier was a hard working journalist who wrote a weekly column for a Paris publication for thirty years and also was a free spirited author of many works of fiction. My Fantoms' cover art represents the two beautiful Italian sisters Gautier loved: one was an opera singer who lived with him and shared his day to day routines, and the other was a dancer who traveled internationally frequently sending him love letters.

Holmes writes in the Postscript that the seven stories are strange and mysterious implying they are somewhat difficult to interpret from a rational point of view. But, in the following passage from the story "The Painter," Gautier shows the reader how to understand the characters' experiences in all the stories. "...he was capable of becoming one of the greatest of our artists; but instead he only became one of the strangest of our madmen. He had questioned his own existence too closely and too curiously; almost invariably he injected everyday events with some grotesque element of his own fantasy."

You can enter the realm of madness in a number of dimensions as you read the great collection of stories written by a master of the rational/irrational. Gautier will show you that the demons most threatening to sanity are the desires that dwell within our minds.

... Read more

Product Description
# CHAPTER I THE TRAVELER# CHAPTER II A LOOK OF CURIOSITY# CHAPTER III PAUL'S DEPARTURE# CHAPTER IV AN ELEGANT NEAPOLITAN# CHAPTER V THE FACCHINO# CHAPTER VI THE EVIL EYE# CHAPTER VII DREAMS TORMENTING# CHAPTER VIII ACCURSED!# CHAPTER IX A BROKEN FIBRE# CHAPTER X HER DUTY# CHAPTER XI THE RED AUREOLE# CHAPTER XII TWO STILETTOS# CHAPTER XIII SKELETON OF A CITY# CHAPTER XIV USELESS SACRIFICE ... Read more

Product Description
Travel essay, first published in French in "The Orient" in 1869. According to Wikipedia: "Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier (August 30, 1811 – October 23, 1872) was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and literary critic. While an ardent defender of Romanticism, Gautier's work is difficult to classify and remains a point of reference for many subsequent literary traditions such as Parnassianism, Symbolism, Decadence and Modernism. He was widely esteemed by writers as diverse as Balzac, Baudelaire, the Goncourt brothers, Flaubert and Oscar Wilde." ... Read more

Product Description
And yet Gretchen, although daintier and more refined, really bore a striking resemblance to the Magdalen of Antwerp Cathedral, and Tiburce's imagination might well rest upon her without going astray. It would have been hard for him to find a more magnificent body for the phantom of his painted mistress.

... Read more

Product Description
A woman uses her incredible beauty to captivate both d'Albert, a young poet, disguised as a man, his mistress, Rosette. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

sensual awakening
In this novel a young woman, Mademoiselle de Maupin, dresses as a man to find out what men are all about before she becomes committed to one in marriage. Not surprisingly it creates confusions for her. But, just to think of such a thing suggests some strange sexual chracteristics. What she finds out about men is not at all flattering. But the book is even-handed with some caustic comments about women also. Maupin rescues a girl about to become entrapped by one of the most unlikeable specimens of malehood. But how can she (still appearing to be a man) take under her wing a girl to care for her?

Gautier starts the book with a series of letters describing the confusion in the life of a young man, D'Albert. D'Albert takes a mistress, Rosette, because he is distressed about his own lack of fulfilment (what's wrong with him we may wonder?). But the mistress happens to have been disappointed in love because she had fallen in love with Maupin (apparently a man) who had to reject that love because .....

D'Albert has a fulfilling relationship with Rosette but someohow it is not satisfying. When Maupin returns - perhaps feeling guilty over how she had abandoned Rosette, perhaps even wanting to explain - D'Albert is captivated. He fears he must be homosexual, with all the horror or shock that entails as a realisation at the first instance. Perhaps we do accept homosexuality more readily these days, but it must still come as something of a shock to an individual. To me even the realisation of heterosexuality was something of a shock and I could only get used to the idea by thinking of biology and the 'normalness' of sex (why is it so hidden I wondered - and still do).

But D'Albert is profoundly heterosexual in his love for Maupin even though she still appears to be a man. The consummation of their love is both rewarding and disappointing to D'Albert. And in the end Gautier implies things about Maupin - and even Rosette - that are less clear.

This is a wonderful, evocative novel; erotic and sensual. Perhaps the plot stretches credibility a bit - if D'Albert had been a less unsettled man himself ..... But it doesn't matter if you are male or female, prepare yourself for some sharp observations on the behaviour of your own sex.

other recommendations:
'Indiana' - George Sand
'The Secret Power of Beauty' - John Armstrong
'Diaries' - Alma Schindler (Mahler-Werfel)

A bisexual trouser role tour de force
One of the great, tho surprisingly little known, classics of french lit. I don't believe it's ever been filmed and it would make such a wonderfully modern comedy of manners and sexual politics. Written in the 19th century and surprisingly nouveau. It is possibly my own personal favorite novel, I have several editions and have read it many times. A woman masquerades as a man, in the grand, Shakespearean classic tradition and finds herself drawn to both men and women as they to her. Much homosexual panic and confusion ensues, esp. for the man who finds this intriguing young 'boy' so fascinating. His lover, an older woman, is equally attracted to the disguised girl. Where will it all end? The french invented the menage afterall. Intricately written with lots of social satire and commentary. An interesting footnote: this is the book that Mary is reading in "The Children's Hr." that 'inspires' her imagination which leads to her ratting out her teachers as lesbians.

a beautiful masterpiece
I am sixty years old, and although Gautier became one of my favorite writers when I was around eighteen years old, I never got around to reading his masterpiece until now.The long preface of this novel is more famous than the novel itself, but let us talk about the novel.It is not clear just when the action takes place, somewhere between 1650 and 1835, but it doesn't really take place in a particular period, nor does it take place in the real world.It is a sort of fantasy in spite of not having any supernatural elements.It is based in part on Shakespeare's As You Like It, with Rosalind and Orlando being replaced by Maupin and D'Albert.It is somewhat confusing, as the author switches viewpoints from chapter to chapter without warning.Sometimes it is Maupin speaking, sometimes D'Albert, sometimes the author.Gautier worshipped the beauty of the physical and artistic worlds, which is the whole point of the novel.He tends to identify beauty with female beauty, but there are also swans and roses and nightingales and the moon and so much else.It is the most romantic novel ever written.Some readers may be annoyed by Gautier's penchant for description.In one passage, he takes two whole pages just to describe an old tapestry which has nothing to do with the plot.One needs some footnotes if one is not perfectly familiar with all of the learned references that are scattered throughout the novel.In one passage, Gautier mentions a seraglio and a handkerchief being dropped.This refers to the habit of the Turkish sultan of going to his seraglio or harem and dropping a handkerchief in front of the bed partner he has chosen for the night.But Gautier assumes that the reader knows about this and doesn't explain it.There is a lot of what might be called pseudo-homosexuality in the novel, men and women falling in love with women who are disguised as men, only to find out in the end their true sexual identity.The anguish of D'Albert upon thinking that he is in love with a man reads awfully silly to modern audiences that find nothing wrong with this.But it turns out that everybody in the novel is really heterosexual.There is a sex scene at the end, but this novel is far from being pornographic.It used to have a reputation of being a Dirty French Novel, but faded from popularity in the United States after real pornography made people realize how tame Gautier is in comparison.He seems to have been more interested in art than life.He can think of nothing better to compare a beautiful woman to than a statue or painting of a woman.There is not the slightest vulgarity or lapse of taste anywhere in the novel.Some passages are breathtaking.It is a shame that this novel failed to catch fire when Joanna Richardson translated it for Penguin Classics in the early 1980s.It had previously been in Random House's Modern Library series with a dust jacket showing two pairs of shoes, one male and one female, left outside a hotel room door to be cleaned.Gautier's humor is dry and charming.I love this book, but don't expect to find hordes buying it.It is for the few.

One of the best books of the aesthetic movement
This book is an unequivocal celebration of Beauty--not the sentimental, middle-class idea of beauty, but the all-encompassing beauty to which the Aesthetic writers were enslaved.The prologue sets forth Gautier's cult of pure aesthetics, and the book is a fulfillment of every sublime principledelineated in the prologue.

The plot is relatively simple: Magdalene is awoman who is discontented with the traditional role of a woman, so shedresses as a man and ventures forth as "Theodore."An aesthete,D'albert, falls in love with her despite her male persona, and Magdalene inturn falls in love with his mistress Rosette.But it is much more complexthan that.It is a meditation on the nature of the muse, on thesubject-object relations in art, on the implications of gender politics, onthe eternal Aesthetic in both life and art. ... Read more

Product Description
Captain Fracasse is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by Theophile Gautier is in the English language. If you enjoy the works of Theophile Gautier then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Noble Redemption
Captain Fracasse, originally published in 1863, is a romantic tale of a proud descendent of French nobility whose estate has decayed, due largely it appears to his own lack of initiative.He was never trained to do anything practical except to meet the expectations of an idle class that relied on serfs to do the actual work on the estate. He did become an excellent swordsman as the result of the long tutelage of the estate's steward.As fate would have it, a traveling troupe of comic actors is forced to spend a stormy night off the beaten path in Baron de Sigognac's castle. The Baron falls in love at first sight with Isabelle, the troupe's ingénue actress.

He decides to leave his chateau in the care of his faithful old steward and to travel with the troupe on their journey to Paris.His idea is to have his family's wealth restored by chance meetings with the monarchy during which he can ask for relief from his undeserved impoverishment.On the road, the Baron takes the role of Captain Fracasse in one of the troupe's productions and, against his proud nature, acts the part of a bumbling military officer.He learns humility through the role and gains the power of love in his relationship with the ingénue.

Baron de Sigognac's initiative, insight, swordsmanship, and emotional power of love pay off in Paris when he meets and provides martial aid to influential people. His family fortune changes and Isabelle gives him a life-renewing gift. His steward, dog, cat, and pony rejoice at the estate.

Theophile Gautier was a member of an artist group that included Alexandre Dumas and Victor Hugo, and was a staunch proponent of Romanticism in 19th Century French literature.Like some of the work of his contemporaries, Gautier's style is lyrical, his structure is linear, and he carefully develops romantic themes in Captain Fracasse. An interesting parallel with Balzac's "Human Comedy" is that happiness is described in terms of the number of Francs income per year for members of the nobility and the upper classes.

Captain Fracasse is an entertaining story of redemption with life interesting sketches of secondary characters. The local color of France in the first half of the 17th Century sets the stage for the tale. The straight forward, romantic novel is very different from Gautier's short stories that focus on detailed psychological evaluations of the key players (see my review of My Fantoms).
... Read more

Product Description
Translator: Lafcadio Hearn; This collection includes: King Candaules, Clarimonde, and The Mummy's Foot ... Read more

Product Description
This title has fewer than 24 printed text pages. The Black Tide is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by Arthur G. Stangland is in the English language. If you enjoy the works of Arthur G. Stangland then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. ... Read more

Product Description
The Works of Theophile Gautier, Volume 5 - The Romance of a Mummy and Egypt is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by Theophile Gautier is in the English language. If you enjoy the works of Theophile Gautier then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. ... Read more

Product Description
He ceased to speak and commenced to regard me more attentively than ever, as though to observe the effect of his words on me. I could not refrain from starting when I heard him utter the name of Clarimonde, and this news of her death, in addition to the pain it caused me by reason of its coincidence with the nocturnal scenes I had witnessed, filled me with an agony and terror which my face betrayed. ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
Publisher: Cambridge, Mass. : The Jensen SocietyNotes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be numerous typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there. ... Read more

Product Description
Originally published in 1893.This volume from the Cornell University Library's print collections was scanned on an APT BookScan and converted to JPG 2000 format by Kirtas Technologies.All titles scanned cover to cover and pages may include marks notations and other marginalia present in the original volume. ... Read more

Product Description
Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and literary critic. He was a contributor to various journals, most notably to La Presse. He was director of Revue de Paris from 1851-1856. During this time, Gautier left La Presse and became a journalist for Le Moniteur Universel. Gautier acquired the editorship of influential review L'Artiste in 1856. In 1862 he was elected chairman of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. During the Franco-Prussian war, Gautier made his way back to Paris. He remained with his family throughout the invasion and the aftermath of the Commune, eventually dying in 1872 of a cardiac disease.

The Mummy's Foot -- the title story in this collection -- is a gothic tale, published in French as "Le Pied de Momie." It relates the adventures of a man who buys the 3,000 year old foot of Princess Hermonthis in a Parisian curio shop. Gautier has a fascination with Ancient Egypt as well as an obsession with mortality, decay, and the passage of time.When Princess Hermonthis takes him to her time and place of burial, he asks for her hand from her father, who flatly refuses because of his concern for durability, and the transience of the young man's existence compared to that of a three-thousand year old girl. ... Read more