Louis Couperus

El Imperio persa bajo el mando del rey Jerjes (486-465 a.C.) cobra vida en esta soberbia novela del clásico neerlandés Louis Couperus, quien pone de manifiesto, junto a un excepcional conocimiento de la historia antigua, una extraordinaria sensibilidad narrativa. Autoproclamado Rey de reyes, Jerjes se nos revela aquí como un hombre arrogante y ambicioso, cuya megalomanía y su empeño en dominar el mundo conocido llevaron a los persas a una guerra contra los griegos que no aportó a su pueblo sino calamidades como nunca antes se habían visto.

Translator: Alexander Teixeira de Mattos

Translator: Alexander Teixeira de Mattos

Translator: Alexander Teixeira de Mattos

This book was created by Louis Marie-Anne Couperus, one of the major Dutch writers, in 1918. The story tells of two very old people who keep a terrible secret from the time they lived in the Dutch East Indies, many decades ago. Yet times change, and shame and scandal can no longer be contained when their grandchildren get married.Louis Marie-Anne Couperus (1863-1923) was a Dutch novelist and poet of the late 19th and early 20th century. He is usually considered one of the foremost figures in Dutch literature. He came to fame with the publication of his first novel Eline Vere (1888), a naturalist work influenced by French novelists like Emile Zola and Gustave Flaubert. His 1891 novel Noodlot (Footsteps of Fate) was much admired by Oscar Wilde, and many have noted stylistic similarities between Noodlots 1890 novel and The Picture of Dorian Gray. Couperus attained popularity with his novels Majesteit (Majesty, 1893) and Wereldvrede (World Peace, 1895), both set among royals in modern Europe, threatened with anarchism. Also his fairy tale Psyche (1898) has often been reprinted. His other works include: De Stille Kracht (The Hidden Force, 1900), Berg van Licht (The Mountain of Light, 1906), De Boeken der Kleine Zielen (The Books of the Small Souls, 1901-1902) and Van Oude Menschen, de Dingen, die Voorbij gaan... (Old People and the Things that Pass, 1906).

A gripping story of doomed passion from the pen of the Dutch Oscar WildeCornelie De Retz Van Loo, a twenty- three-year-old divorcee from an upper- class Hague milieu, tries with mixed feelings to begin a new life in Italy. She meets a Dutch painter, and they move in together, flouting convention. They are happy but poor, and their financial position goes from bad to worse, until Cornelie encounters her ex-husband, and he begins to re-exert his influence over her ...Couperus binds both irony and spiritual redemption. The Daily TelegraphCouperus sympathy for the hybrid, the impure and the ambiguous gave him a peculiarly modern voice. It is extraordinary that this Dutch dandy, writing in the flowery language of fin-de-siecle decadence, should still sound so fresh. Ian Buruma, The New York Times Review of BooksThe portrait of their unfolding affair is a masterful observation of the beauty and illogic of romantic love. (...) Only the ending,which the title foreshadows, strikes an unhappy note; Cornelies abrupt and arbitrary fate unbalances a finely shadowed novel. &mdashClare Clark Times Literary SupplementThere are many chapters in Inevitable, aside from the concluding one, which mark the book as an exquisite example of the fictionists art. The authors touch is always delicate and sure in handling the lights and shades of thought and emotion. (...) There is not a poorly drawn character among the score or so in the book. The New york Times Book ReviewLouis Couperus (18631923), regarded as one of the foremost figures in Dutch literature, was a leading member of the Tachtigers movement. Born in the Hague, Couperus was taken by his family to the Dutch East Indies as a child, where he remained until his fathers death. His other novels include Eline Vere (1889), Ecstasy (Extaze: Een boek van geluk, 1892), Inevitable (Langs lijnen van geleidelijkheid, 1900), and The Hidden Force (De Stille Kracht, 1900), all of which are available from Pushkin Press. A renowned wit, raconteur and commentator, Couperus continued to publish critically and commercially successful work until his death.

Ecstasy is a novel of burning passion and agonising restraint. In turn-of the-century Holland, Cecile, a beautiful high-society widow, falls in love with a notorious womanizer, but her desire must remain unspoken.This is one of Couperuss most powerful novels. A brilliant observer of fin-de-siecle Dutch society, his works are characterised by perfect characterisation, exquisite description and a mordant wit, which brought comparisons to Oscar Wilde.Couperus binds both irony and spiritual redemption. The Daily TelegraphCouperus sympathy for the hybrid, the impure and the ambiguous gave him a peculiarly modern voice. It is extraordinary that this Dutch dandy, writing in the flowery language of fin-de-siecle decadence, should still sound so fresh. Ian Buruma, The New York Times Review of BooksLouis Couperus (18631923), regarded as one of the foremost figures in Dutch literature, was a leading member of the Tachtigers movement. Born in the Hague, Couperus was taken by his family to the Dutch East Indies as a child, where he remained until his fathers death. His other novels include Eline Vere (1889), Ecstasy (Extaze: Een boek van geluk, 1892), Inevitable (Langs lijnen van geleidelijkheid, 1900), and The Hidden Force (De Stille Kracht, 1900), all of which are available from Pushkin Press. A renowned wit, raconteur and commentator, Couperus continued to publish critically and commercially successful work until his death.

Eline Vere is a engrossing, brilliantly observed novel. Love, sorrow, madness and the tyranny of social snobbery are all laid bare in this classic of Dutch literature the book which made Louis Couperus, The Netherlands answer to Oscar Wilde, famous.In 1889, Dutch society was enthralled by Eline Vere, published in instalments in the newspaper, which minutely described the conventions, manners and hypocrisies of society with richness of description and vivid characterizations. Eline Vere and her sister Betsy are wealthy young socialites living in The Hague in the 19th century. Eline attempts to break free from the confines of her narrow existence through tumultuous and ultimately disastrous courtships. Eline is not merely a figure of her times but also a passionate spokesperson, too often foolish and futile. In her sensibility she is worthy of having one of the richest most satisfying novels of the late 19th century named after her.Couperus binds both irony and spiritual redemption. The Daily TelegraphCouperus sympathy for the hybrid, the impure and the ambiguous gave him a peculiarly modern voice. It is extraordinary that this Dutch dandy, writing in the flowery language of fin-de-siecle decadence, should still sound so fresh. Ian Buruma, The New York Times Review of BooksLouis Couperus (18631923), regarded as one of the foremost figures in Dutch literature, was a leading member of the Tachtigers movement. Born in the Hague, Couperus was taken by his family to the Dutch East Indies as a child, where he remained until his fathers death. His other novels include Eline Vere (1889), Ecstasy (Extaze: Een boek van geluk, 1892), Inevitable (Langs lijnen van geleidelijkheid, 1900), and The Hidden Force (De Stille Kracht, 1900), all of which are available from Pushkin Press. A renowned wit, raconteur and commentator, Couperus continued to publish critically and commercially successful work until his death.

A withering indictment of Dutch colonialism, Louis Couperuss The Hidden Force is a vivid portrait of fin-de-siecle moral and social decay.A mystical Javan prince and a promiscuous wife are twin challenges to Dutch Commissioner Van Oudijcks seemingly impregnable authority. As he struggles to maintain control of his district and his family, ancient local traditions reassert their influence and colonial power begins to disintegrate. Set at the height of Dutch colonial rule in the East Indies, this classic of Dutch literature portrays the clash between Western rationalism and indigenous mysticism through an evocative and sensual narrative.Translated from the Dutch by Paul Vincent, Louis Couperuss The Hidden Force is published by Pushkin Press.Louis Couperus (1863-1923), regarded as one of the foremost figures in Dutch literature, was a leading member of the Tachtigers movement. Born in the Hague, Couperus was taken by his family to the Dutch East Indies as a child, where he remained until his fathers death. His other novels include Eline Vere (1889), Ecstasy (Extaze: Een boek van geluk, 1892), Inevitable (Langs lijnen van geleidelijkheid, 1900), and The Hidden Force (De Stille Kracht, 1900), all of which are available from Pushkin Press. A renowned wit, raconteur and commentator, Couperus continued to publish critically and commercially successful work until his death.

Translator: Alexander Teixeira de Mattos

Sind Sie fertig, Herr Westhove?Ja, sagte Frank und grub noch schnell den letzten Buchstaben ein.Sie sah zu und bemerkte, dass er fur sie Eva Rhodes in das Holz geschnitten hatte, mit sehr schonen, gleichmaigen, ausgehohlten Buchstaben. Darunter stand Frank, hart und rau in aller Eile gemacht.Warum haben Sie Rhodes dazu geschnitten?, fragte sie, und ihre Stimme klang gedampft wie aus der Ferne.Weil das langer war, antwortete Frank einfach.

Translator: Alexander Teixeira de Mattos

Editor: Edmund Gosse / Translator: Clara Bell