Élémir Bourges – The Twilight of the Gods

Long out of print in English, and here offered for the first time in a restored format, The Twilight of the Gods, Élémir Bourges’ acknowledged masterpiece, was originally published in March, 1884, just two months before J.-K. Huysmans’ groundbreaking À rebours. Both novels at once laid the groundwork for the Decadent Movement, and presented a striking challenge to Naturalism by, instead of depicting common existence, offering case studies of exceptional, extravagant beings.

In Bourges’ highly aesthetic work, we follow Charles d’Este, Duke of Blankenburg, who, along with his eccentric family, is exiled to Paris, where his excessive, luxurious lifestyle and the Wagnerian fate that follows him are like a chandelier falling from the sky.