Overview
Sabbat, by Hélène Picard (1873-1945), first published in 1923, is one of the most forthright contributions to the rich French tradition of "literary Satanism." It was issued as part of a "Collection Colette," and is dedicated to Colette, who also provided the preface, the brief text of which implies strongly that the book was commissioned by her. Seeing Satan emerging from a poppy and accepting him as her poetic savior, Picard sets forth in this series of interlocked prose-poems to unpack the notion of Satanism and specify its real implications, with a surreal flamboyance that is typically "decadent" and which Baudelaire would surely have understood and approved of. Though exceedingly obscure, Sabbat, here presented for the first time in English, in a fine translation by Brian Stableford, is a very intriguing work, of considerable importance as a late addition to the canon of Decadent literature, which deserves to be much more widely read and appreciated.
- | Author: Hélène Picard
- | Publisher: Snuggly Books
- | Publication Date: Nov 15, 2022
- | Number of Pages: 288 pages
- | Language: English
- | Binding: Paperback
- | ISBN-10: 1645251101
- | ISBN-13: 9781645251101
