The Pataphysician's Library An Exploration of Alfred Jarry's Livres Pairs

This work is a study of aspects of 1890s French literature, with specific reference to the traditions of symbolism and decadence. Its main focus is Alfred Jarry, who has proved to be one of the more durable fin de siecle authors. This study uses the enigmatic list of books termed the Livres pairs, which appears in Jarry's 1898 novel Gestes et Opinions du Docteur Faustroll Pataphysicien, his best-known prose work. While some texts are very well known, and a few very obscure, the greatest interest of the Livres pairs lies in a group of works by Jarry's friends and contemporaries, primarily Leon Bloy, Georges Darien, Gustave Kahn and Catulle Mendes.