About the Author

Theophile Gautier (1811-72), French painter, poet, novelist, and critic, was a leading exponent of Art for Art's Sake, preparing the way for the Parnassians and Symbolists in their reaction against Romanticism.


Helen Constantine was Head of Languages at Bartholomew School, Eynsham, until she became a full-time translator. She is currently translating Dangerous Liaisons by Laclos, also for Penguin. She has recently published a volume of translated stories, Paris Tales, for OUP, and is co-editor of the magazine Modern Poetry in Translation. She is married to the poet, David Constantine.
Patricia Duncker is the author of short stories, essays and several novels, including Hallucinating Foucault and Seven Tales of Sex and Death (2003). She is also Professor of Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia.