Project Gutenberg 2012-11-20 Public domain in the USA. 59 Lorrain, Jean 1855 1906 Duval, Paul Alexandre Martin Lorrain, J. (Jean) Monsieur de Phocas, Astarté: Roman Produced by Clarity, Hélène de Mink, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF/Gallica) at http://gallica.bnf.fr) "Monsieur de Phocas, Astarté: Roman" by Jean Lorrain is a novel written in the late 19th century. The narrative centers on the enigmatic character M. de Phocas, who becomes a focal point of intrigue and discussion among the Parisian elite, possessing a mysterious past and a penchant for the aesthetics of beauty and decadence. The story delves into themes of obsession, identity, and the interplay between art and life, inviting readers to explore the darker dimensions of desire and allure. The opening of the novel introduces the main character, M. de Phocas, as he unexpectedly visits the narrator, who is struggling to comprehend the audacity displayed by this curious visitor. Described in intricate detail, M. de Phocas exudes an air of elegance and refinement, yet his unnaturally pale appearance hints at a deeper turmoil. As the narrator observes him handling his manuscripts with nonchalance, he becomes increasingly captivated and repulsed by M. de Phocas's audacity, culminating in a conversation rife with esoteric references to art, beauty, and an inner malaise. This initial encounter sets the stage for exploring themes of obsession, as M. de Phocas expresses a profound connection to the allure of gemstones and the legacy of obsession they symbolize, particularly through the allusion to Astarté, the demon of lust and the sea. (This is an automatically generated summary.) file:///public/vhost/g/gutenberg/html/files/41413/41413-h/images/cover.jpg fr Paris (France) -- Fiction French fiction Drug addicts -- Fiction Opium abuse -- Fiction PQ Text FR Littérature Browsing: Culture/Civilization/Society Browsing: Literature Browsing: Fiction 509610 509619 2024-09-17T11:21:12.744147 2023-09-18T06:20:20.230641 text/html text/html 497611 2012-11-19T16:05:08 text/html; charset=iso-8859-1 279577 2012-11-19T16:05:50 text/html; charset=iso-8859-1 application/zip 327188 2024-09-17T11:21:20.074603 application/epub+zip 332481 2024-09-17T11:21:14.050137 application/epub+zip 272831 2024-09-17T11:21:13.378132 application/epub+zip 483338 2024-09-17T11:21:24.919601 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 426050 2024-09-17T11:21:19.349111 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 367258 2022-09-19T03:35:49.391913 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 460171 2024-09-17T11:21:11.883132 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 459930 2012-11-19T16:04:38 text/plain; charset=utf-8 182672 2012-11-19T16:05:48 text/plain; charset=utf-8 application/zip 448524 2012-11-19T16:05:34 text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 180859 2012-11-19T16:05:48 text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 application/zip 21224 2024-09-17T11:21:25.238567 application/rdf+xml 10055 2024-09-17T11:21:13.492129 image/jpeg 1986 2024-09-17T11:21:13.434126 image/jpeg 288257 2024-09-17T11:21:12.802161 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia fr.wikipedia