This is one of Couperus's most powerful novels. A brilliant observer of fin-de-siècle Dutch society, his works are characterised by perfect characterisation, exquisite description and a mordant wit, which brought comparisons to Oscar Wilde.
The sexual tension is electric and, in the sudden, exquisite flaming of love, Couperus binds both irony and spiritual redemption." - Max Davidson, Daily Telegraph
'Couperus sympathy for the hybrid, the impure and the ambiguous gave him a peculiarly modern voice. It is extraordinary that this Dutch dandy, writing in the flowery language of fin-de-siecle decadence, should still sound so fresh." - Ian Buruma, The New York Times Review of Books
This is one of Couperus's most powerful novels. A brilliant observer of fin-de-siècle Dutch society, his works are characterised by perfect characterisation, exquisite description and a mordant wit, which brought comparisons to Oscar Wilde.
Praise
The sexual tension is electric and, in the sudden, exquisite flaming of love, Couperus binds both irony and spiritual redemption." - Max Davidson, Daily Telegraph
'Couperus sympathy for the hybrid, the impure and the ambiguous gave him a peculiarly modern voice. It is extraordinary that this Dutch dandy, writing in the flowery language of fin-de-siecle decadence, should still sound so fresh." - Ian Buruma, The New York Times Review of Books
