About the Author

J.K.Huysmans (1847-1907) began writing as a naturalist in the style of Zola. .He changed from being an obscure author and art critic to one of the most famous authors of his day with the publication of A Rebours (Against Nature) in 1884. His novel about Satanism, La-Bas (1891)is the cult novel of the nineteenth century. Clara Bell was the first English translator of J-K. Huysmans' novel The Cathedral. She also translated a number of novels by Balzac including Seraphita. Brendan King is a freelancewriter, reviewer and translator with a special interest in late nineteenth-century French fiction. His Ph.D. is on the life and work of J.K.Huysmans. He has translated La-Bas, Parisian Sketches, Marthe, Against Nature and Stranded by J.-K. Huysmans for Dedalus. He has also edited The Life of J.K.Huysmans by Robert Baldick for Dedalus