Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Vintage (1966), Paperback, 310 pages
Description
The Aesthetic and Decadent Movement of the late 19th century spawned the idea of ""Art for Art's Sake,"" challenged aesthetic standards and shocked the bourgeosie. From Walter Pater's study, ""The Renaissance to Salome, the truly decadent collaboration between Oscar Wilde and Aubrey Beardsley, Karl Beckson has chosen a full spectrum of works that chronicle the British artistic achievement of the 1890's. In this revised edition of a classic anthology, ""The Ballad of Reading Gaol"" has been included in its entirety; the bibliography has been completely updated; Professor Beckson's notes and comm
User reviews
LibraryThing member puabi
My favorite part of this book was the story by Aubrey Beardsley, it was delicious. Try it.
LibraryThing member datrappert
Only a few pieces stand out in what is better viewed as a reflection on the 1890s than as a collection of enjoyable pieces. From an early 21st century perspective, to succeed, a piece has to still be funny. As pleasant a person as Max Beerbohm is, there isn't much amusement or pleasure in reading
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"A Defence of Cosmetics". It is impossible to understand the context or the way in which it was received by its original audience. The best piece here is Wilde's "The Decay of Lying: An Observation," which still makes me laugh out loud. The other Wilde contributions here as good as well. The Ballad of Reading Gaol, presented here in its entirety, is rather repetitive, but of course it is full of great quotes. Otherwise, the appendices are more interesting than much of the main contents of the volume. Robert Hichen's satire of Wilde is quite funny. Certainly the best thing, however, his the excerpt from Huysmans Against the Grain, which like the entire book, is brilliant and sums up Decadence better than anything else could. Show Less
Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1981 (collection)
ISBN
0394703421 / 9780394703428