The Child of Pleasure [Paperback]

Gabriele D'Annunzio (Author), Georgina Harding (Translator), Ernest Boyd (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 12, 2006

The Child of Pleasure (written in 1888 and published in 1889) and its protagonist Andrea Sperelli introduced the Italian culture of the late 1800s to Aestheticism and a taste for decadence. Sperelli is a young count, who - like Joris Karl Huysmans' Baron Des Esseintes or Oscar Wilde's Dorian Gray - following family tradition, seeks beauty and despises the bourgeois world; leads an extraordinary life, which he lives as a work of art; and rejects the basic rules of morality and social interaction. However, this extraordinary sensitivity also implies a certain corruption, evident in his sadistic superimposing of the two women: Elena Muti and Maria Ferres.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Italian --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 212 pages
• Publisher: Mondial (December 12, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595690581
• ISBN-13: 978-1595690586
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,918,942 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A deplorable reprint, March 27, 2011

By 

Dr. Richard M. Price (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Child of Pleasure (Paperback)

It is irresponsible of a publisher to reprint, as a genuine text of D'Annunzio, a notoriously unfaithful translation of D'Annunzio's first novel. Harding cut out most of the sex and all the philosophy in order to make the novel suit middlebrow late Victorian taste. The result is a travesty. Such reprints are worse than useless: by getting in first, they may discourage the publication of what we need -- a new and reliable translation.

1.0 out of 5 stars The Not Il Piacere, January 23, 2012

By 

Jane Stivarius (Miami Beach Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Child of Pleasure (Paperback)

I'm struggling with Il piacere in Italian and the struggle is proving to be more than worth it. Huge vocabulary, rich descriptions and, wow, the action!!!!! In the process, I've found the Harding translation to English in various places on the web. The Harding translation is NOT D'Annunzio's book. Don't even waste money buying it. Like Karl P and Dr. Price, I wish this book were available in an accurate translation.

9 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars When in Rome...read this book, March 24, 2000

By 

a reader (New Orleans, LA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Child of Pleasure (Hardcover)

D'Annuzio gives us the intimate details of the decadent lifestyle of a ne'er-do-well Roman count and his social class. The facts of the story could be told in a few sentences, but (like his contemporary Henry James) its the way he tells the story not the story itself that is the most appealing. His descriptions of Rome and the country villas of the rich make it a great book to take on a trip to Italy.