Written in 1913 this is a thoroughly decadent story of an unusual menage a trois which ends in a killing. It's filled with poets and artists and those special problems that sensitive people have ('Do you hear that music? It's like a symbol of my life: a wonderful melody murdered by a terrible unworthy performer.') The last word on this magnificent period piece - bejewelled and opiated and splendidly over the top - belongs to one of its characters: 'It seems more like the vision of some brilliant onanist than reality'. Phil Baker in The Sunday Times "Febrile, intense and innovative." Nicholas Lezard in The Guardian "It is an enigmatic love triangle riddled with madness and jealousy, set in fin de siecle Paris and Lisbon, and its translation reopens a rich vein of fantastic literature." Christopher Fowler in Time Out A decadent, enigmatic jewel of a novel which will delight readers of fin-de-siecle fiction.