''Là-Bas'', translated as ''Down There'' or ''The Damned'', is a novel by the French writer

Joris-Karl Huysmans Charles-Marie-Georges Huysmans (, ; 5 February 1848 – 12 May 1907) was a French novelist and art critic who published his works as Joris-Karl Huysmans (, variably abbreviated as J. K. or J.-K.). He is most famous for the novel ''À rebou ...

, first published in 1891. It is Huysmans's most famous work after ''

À rebours ''À rebours'' (; translated ''Against Nature'' or ''Against the Grain'') is an 1884 novel by the French writer Joris-Karl Huysmans. The narrative centers on a single character: Jean des Esseintes, an eccentric, reclusive, ailing aesthete. The l ...

''. ''Là-Bas'' deals with the subject of

Satanism Satanism is a group of ideological and philosophical beliefs based on Satan. Contemporary religious practice of Satanism began with the founding of the atheistic Church of Satan by Anton LaVey in the United States in 1966, although a few hi ...

in contemporary France, and the novel stirred a certain amount of controversy on its first appearance. It is the first of Huysmans's books to feature the character Durtal, a thinly disguised portrait of the author himself, who would go on to be the protagonist of all of Huysmans's subsequent novels: ''

En route ''En route'' may refer to: * ''En Route'' (novel), an 1895 novel by Joris-Karl Huysmans * ''En Route'' (film), a 2004 German movie directed by Jan Krüger * En-route chart, in aeronautics * enRoute (credit card), Air Canada's credit card divisi ...

'', '' La cathédrale'' and ''

L'oblat ''The Oblate'' (french: L'Oblat) is the last novel by the French writer Joris-Karl Huysmans, first published in 1903. ''The Oblate'' is the final book in Huysmans' cycle of four novels featuring the character Durtal, a thinly disguised portrait ...

''.

History and plot

''Là-Bas'' was first published in serial form by the newspaper ''

L'Écho de Paris ''L'Écho de Paris'' was a daily newspaper in Paris from 1884 to 1944. The paper's editorial stance was initially conservative and nationalistic, but it later became close to the French Social Party. Its writers included Octave Mirbeau, Henri de ...

'', with the first installment appearing on February 15, 1891. It came out in book form in April of the same year; the publisher was Tresse et Stock. Many of ''L'Écho de Paris more conservative readers were shocked by the subject matter and urged the editor to halt the serialisation, but he ignored them. Sale of the book was prohibited from French railway stations. The plot of ''Là-Bas'' concerns the novelist Durtal, who is disgusted by the emptiness and vulgarity of the modern world. He seeks relief by turning to the study of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

(chapter one contains the first critical appreciation of

Matthias Grünewald Matthias Grünewald ( – 31 August 1528) was a German Renaissance painter of religious works who ignored Renaissance classicism to continue the style of late medieval Central European art into the 16th century. His first name is also given ...

Tauberbischofsheim altarpiece The ''Tauberischofsheim Altarpiece'' (earlier known as the ''Karlsruhe altarpiece'' or ''Karlsruhe panels''; German: ''Tauberbischofsheimer Altar'', ''Karlsruher Altar'', and ''Karlsruher Tafeln'', respectively) is a late work by the Germany, Ger ...

) and begins to research the life of the notorious 15th-century child-murderer

Gilles de Rais Gilles de Rais (c. 1405 – 26 October 1440), Baron de Rais (), was a knight and lord from Brittany, Anjou and Poitou, a leader in the French army, and a companion-in-arms of Joan of Arc. He is best known for his reputation and later convi ...

. Through his contacts in Paris (notably Dr. Johannes, modeled after

Joseph-Antoine Boullan Abbé Joseph-Antoine Boullan (Saint-Porquier, Tarn-et-Garonne, 18 February 1824 – 4 January 1893, Lyon) was a French Roman Catholic priest who was later laicized, and was often accused of being a Satanist although he continued to defend his stat ...

), Durtal finds out that Satanism is not simply a thing of the past but alive in turn of the century France. He embarks on an investigation of the occult underworld with the help of his lover Madame Chantelouve. The novel culminates with a description of a black mass.

Reception

Dave Langford David Rowland Langford (born 10 April 1953) is a British author, editor, and critic, largely active within the science fiction field. He publishes the science fiction fanzine and newsletter ''Ansible'', and holds the all-time record for most ...

reviewed ''La Bas'' for ''

White Dwarf A white dwarf is a stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very dense: its mass is comparable to the Sun's, while its volume is comparable to the Earth's. A white dwarf's faint luminosity comes fro ...

'' #88, and stated that "A lurid and influential book, containing that famous description of the Black Mass attended by Huysmans himself."

Adaptations

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...

form,

Norman Mailer Nachem Malech Mailer (January 31, 1923 – November 10, 2007), known by his pen name Norman Kingsley Mailer, was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, playwright, activist, filmmaker and actor. In a career spanning over six decades, Mailer ...

wrote a novel based on Huysmans's ''Là-Bas'' entitled ''Trial of the Warlock''. This work was translated into

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

by Hidekatsu Nojima and published as a book entitled ''Kuro-Misa'' ( Black Mass) by

Shueisha (lit. "Gathering of Intellect Publishing Co., Ltd.") is a Japanese company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The foll ...

in 1977.amazon.com.Japan's page
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Sources

Robert Baldick Robert André Edouard Baldick, FRSL (9 November 1927 – April 1972), was a British scholar of French literature, writer, translator and joint editor of the Penguin Classics series with Betty Radice. He was a Fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford. ...

''The Life of J.-K. Huysmans'' (OUP, 1955; revised by Brendan King, Dedalus, 2006) *''Là-bas: A Journey into the Self'' translated by Brendan King (Dedalus, 2001) *''Là-Bas'' translated as ''The Damned'' by Terry Hale (Penguin Classics, 2001)

References

External links

''Là-bas''
at

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