The Misfortunes Of Virtue And Other Early Tales

The name of the Marquis de Sade is synonymous with the blackest corners of the human soul, a byword for all that is foulest in human conduct. In his bleak, claustrophobic universe, there is no God, no morality, no human affection, and no hope. Power is given to the strong, and the strong are murderers, torturers, and tyrants. No quarter is given; compassion is the virtue of the weak. Yet Sade was a man of savage intelligence who carried the philosophy of the French Enlightenment to its logical extreme. His writings effectively release the individual from all social and moral constraint: for many, Sade is the Great Libertarian. The Victorians considered him `Divine' and Apollinaire called him `the freest spirit'; the Surrealists recognised him as a founding father, and he is a key figure in the history of modernism and post-modernism. With Freud and Marx, Sade has been one of the crucial shaping influences on this century, and reactions to him continue to be extreme. But he has always been more talked about than read. This selection of his early writings, some making their first appearance in this new translation, reveals the full range of Sade's sobering moods and considerable talents. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Revered by Enlightenment and Victorian thinkers, de Sade was recognized as a founding father by the Surrealists, and holds a prominent place in the history of modernism and post-modernism. This selection of his early writings, some appearing in English translation for the first time, revealsthe full range of his sobering moods and considerable talents.

Part unabashed erotica, part social discourse, 'Philosophy in the Bedroom' is undoubtedly one of the Marquis De Sade's most uncompromising works. This tale, told in the main in dialogue, recounts the education and the resulting moral decline of Eugenie, at the instruction of Madame de Saint-Ange and Le Chavalier De Mirval, and their friend and collaborator Dolmance. Humorous in its telling and raw in the depiction of its scenes, the work leads the reader to the essence of De Sade's Libertinage, from riotous revelry to potent anti-establishment prose, the laws of Nature and on to its unforgettable conclusion. 200 years ago, this author was shocking audiences and forcing the masses to confront something the upper echelons of society had long known; pleasure, in all its forms and devices, was everything."

Utopia is a work of fiction and socio-political satire by Thomas More published in 1516 in Latin. The book is a frame narrative primarily depicting a fictional island society and its religious, social and political customs. Many aspects of More's description of Utopia are reminiscent of life in monasteries.

Here, in one volume, are three major novels by the Marquis de Sade, including the only authentic and complete British edition of his most famous work JUSTINE: one of his most daring works, PHILOSOPHY IN THE BEDROOM: and the eighteenth-century masterpiece, EUGENIE DE FRANVAL. Also included is Sade's famous DIALOGUE BETWEEN A PRIEST AND A DYING MAN, a selection from his letters, a fifty-page chronology of his life, two important essays on Sade, and a bibliography of his work.

In 1898, Henry James wrote a novella that would become one of the most famous and critically discussed ghost stories ever written, The Turn of the Screw. Three other examples of James’s tales of the supernatural, “The Altar of the Dead,” “The Beast in the Jungle,” and “The Jolly Corner,” are included in this edition. These texts reveal on both the thematic and narrative levels James’s deepest concerns as a writer. The texts in this edition are all drawn from the New York Edition of James’s works. The introduction traces the extensive critical debate around The Turn of the Screw, and situates the texts in contemporary discussions of the supernatural. Appendices include material on the tales’ reception, James’s writings on the supernatural, and the study of the supernatural in the nineteenth century.