This book centers on the revolutionary French symbolist movement of the last part of the 19th century, translated by Emmett Parker. Peyre gets to the heart of the subject, through provocative lines.

Henri Peyre (1901-1988) was  a prolific writer, a profound thinker, a dedicated teacher and an ambassador of good will between America and France. Author of more than thirty books, Peyre spent the heart of his career as Sterling Professor of French at Yale University.

Emmett Parker was a professor of French in the department of Romance Languages at the University of Alabama and  the author of Albert Camus: The Artist in the Arena (University of Wisconsin Press).

"Peyre wrote like a pinwheel, ideas flaring out like sparks against the night… Peyre had a knack for getting to the heart of the matter, a sense of the critical issue, a flair for throwing out provocative lines of investigation." -- Christian Science Monitor

"A masterful work on the revolutionary French symbolist movement of the latter part of the 19th century, excellently translated by Emmett Parker.

"This splendid work is highly recommended." -- Choice