The Devil in Love (Dedalus European Classics)

" A brief but sparkling bon-bon from the French writer Jacques Cazotte, who was guillotined in 1792. A young captain, stationed in Naples, is tempted into summoning up Beelzebub, who appears first in the guise of a hideous camel, then as a cute spaniel, and lastly - and most dangerously - as a gorgeous, pouting nymphette who declares herself enamoured of the young man and follows him everywhere. This is an amusing study of temptation, with sinister undertones." Anne Billson in Time Out "In Biondetta there remains no trace of the monstrous apparition conjured up by Alvaro in the ruins of Portico. The satanic seductress is hidden behind the face of the tormented and plaintive beauty until the end of the fable." Jorges Luis Borges "The Devil in Love is famous on various counts: for its charm and the perfection of its scenes, but above all for the originality of its conception. " Gerard de Nerval

About the Author

Jacques Cazotte (1719-1792) studied law, qualifying in 1740 and went to Paris to work for the Admiralty. A posting to Martinique ruined his health and he retired from the Admiralty to France. He wrote several novels but the only one still read is The Devil in Love. La Harpe's Jacques Cazotte Prophecy, in which he is credited in predicting The French Revolution appears in The Dedalus Book of French Horror.Judith Landry was educated at Somerville College, Oxford where she obtained a first class honours degree in French and Italian. She combines a career as a translator of works of fiction, art and architecture with part-time teaching. Her translations for Dedalus are: The House by the Medlar Tree by Giovanni Verga,The Devil in Love by Jacques Cazotte,Prague Noir:The Weeping Woman on the Streets of Prague by Sylvie Germain, Smarra & Trilby by Charles Nodier and New Finnish Grammar by Diego Marani for Dedalus.

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