Messaline. Roman de l'ancienne Rome.
€550.00
This rare first edition of *Messaline* (Paris, La Revue Blanche, 1901) reveals Alfred Jarry working beyond the familiar Ubu constellation. In a handy duodecimo format, the Roman narrative unfolds with uneasy sensuality, biting irony, and satirical clarity. Issued by La Revue Blanche—one of the key fin-de-siècle platforms—the book sits naturally among Symbolist circles and early literary modernity. This copy is attractively bound in havana half-chagrin with striking orange percaline boards, while the original cover and spine have been preserved—an important bibliophilic virtue. Talvart & Place (X, 130) records the edition in Jarry’s bibliography. A compelling early printing that captures Jarry’s historical imagination and stylistic restlessness.
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Jarry, Alfred
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Messaline. Roman de l'ancienne Rome.
1901 | Paris | La Revue Blanche
A rare Jarry first edition: Roman desire with fin-de-siècle bite.
This rare first edition of *Messaline* (Paris, La Revue Blanche, 1901) reveals Alfred Jarry working beyond the familiar Ubu constellation. In a handy duodecimo format, the Roman narrative unfolds with uneasy sensuality, biting irony, and satirical clarity. Issued by La Revue Blanche—one of the key fin-de-siècle platforms—the book sits naturally among Symbolist circles and early literary modernity. This copy is attractively bound in havana half-chagrin with striking orange percaline boards, while the original cover and spine have been preserved—an important bibliophilic virtue. Talvart & Place (X, 130) records the edition in Jarry’s bibliography. A compelling early printing that captures Jarry’s historical imagination and stylistic restlessness.
€550
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In-12 (Duodecimo) approx. 17 × 22 cm
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Product DETAIL
Jarry reworks the notorious figure of Messalina, Emperor Claudius’s scandalous wife, into a novel where power, desire, and public performance collide. Ancient Rome becomes a mirror: beneath the historical décor, modern fixations and fin-de-siècle moral hypocrisy surface. The tone shifts between near-theatrical scenes, satirical bite, and dark erotic charge. Through ellipsis, quick pivots, and destabilizing details, Jarry repeatedly nudges the reader away from conventional realism. The imperial intrigue reads less like costume drama than a testing ground for human appetite and manipulation.
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