In this collection of "Cruel Tales," we meet a unique and colorful cast of extraordinary characters such as Akedysseril the Queen of India, Mayeris the big game hunter who capured the sacred white elephant, Maryelle the courtesan, Catalina the gypsy toast of Santander, Mahoin the brigand, the murderous Doctor Hallidon, Grand Inquisitor Tomas de Torquemada and Tomolo Ki Ki the Antipodean who traversed the Earth. The Comte de Villiers de l'Isle Adam (1838-1889), pioneer of the Symbolist Movement, is known for his proto-science fiction works Axel (1885) and L'Eve Future (1886). He also wrote many "cruel tales," only a handful of which have ever been translated before this publication of The Scaffold. Poet Paul Verlaine called Villiers' works a "genial melange of irony, metaphysics and terror"and translator Brian Stableford dubs it "a bizarre literary landmark." Brian Stableford has published more than fifty novels and two hundred short stories. This book is the first English-language edition, and includes an authoritative introduction and historical notes.

"There are other beings who know the roads of life and are curious about the paths of death." So says the eccentric Doctor Tribulat Bonhomet of the Eventualists' Society, adding "if we were able to see Nature as it truly is, it is probable that we would shiver in horror," And shiver he does when he meets the Vampiric Soul of one of the savage OTTYSOR... Jean-Marie-Mathias-Philippe-Auguste, Comte de Villiers de l'Isle-Adam (1838-1889), pioneer of the Symbolist Movement, is known for his proto-science fiction works Axel (1885) and L'Eve Future (1886). He also chronicled the colorful adventures of Doctor Bonhomet collected in The Vampire Soul. Poet Paul Verlaine called Villiers' works a "genial melange of irony, metaphysics and terror"and translator Brian Stableford dubs it "a bizarre literary landmark." Stableford has published more than fifty novels and two hundred short stories. The Vampire Soul, written in 1867-thirty years before Bram Stoker's Dracula-is one of the many classic vampire stories available from Black Coat Press. This book is the first English-language edition, and includes an authoritative introduction and historical notes.

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ++++ The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to ensure edition identification: ++++ El Secreto Del Cadalso Auguste Villiers de L'Isle-Adam Alejandro Martinez, 1900