Inevitable [Paperback]

Louis Couperus (Author), Paul Vincent (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2005 | ISBN-10: 1901285596 | ISBN-13: 978-1901285598

Cornelie de Retz Van Loo, a 23-year-old divorcée from an upper-class Hague milieu, tries with mixed feelings to begin a new life in Italy. After some time in Rome, she discovers that Italy itself can never bring her the consolation she seeks, and writes a pamphlet called "The Social Position of the Divorced Woman." She meets the Dutch painter Duco van der Staal, and they move in together, flouting convention. Almost their only acquaintances are an amorous Italian prince and the American heiress he has married for her money. Duco and Cornélie are happy but poor, and their financial position goes from bad to worse. In desperation Cornélie takes a position as a companion to an elderly American lady in Nice, where she encounters her ex-husband, and despite initial resistance she finally succumbs to his continuing power over her . . .

Editorial Reviews

Review

"There are many chapters in Inevitable, aside from the concluding one, which mark the book as an exquisite example of the fictionists art. The author's touch is always delicate and sure in handling the lights and shades of thought and emotion. (...) There is not a poorly drawn character among the score or so in the book" The New York Times Book Review "The portrait of their unfolding affair is a masterful observation of the beauty and illogic of romantic love. (...) Only the ending,which the title foreshadows, strikes an unhappy note; Cornelie's abrupt and arbitrary fate unbalances a finely shadowed novel" Clare Clark Times Literary Supplement

About the Author

Louis Couperus was born in the Hague in 1863. He was taken by his family to the Dutch East Indies where he remained until his father's death. Couperus settled in Italy after his marriage in 1891. His novel Ecstasy was first published a year later and Psyche followed in 1898. Couperus died of blood poisoning in 1923.

Product Details

• Paperback: 334 pages
• Publisher: Pushkin Press (January 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1901285596
• ISBN-13: 978-1901285598
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,575,992 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful book, February 18, 2007

By 

Seeker "Marya" (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Inevitable (Paperback)

I buy Pushkin Press books for my 93-year-old mother, who is an avid reader. They are beautifully made with a very legible typeface, but compact, and fit in the palm of her hand. She says she can no longer hold a standard hardbound book because of her arthritis. These books have been ideal for her, as she is a lifelong student of literature.