''Querelle of Brest'' (french: Querelle de Brest) is a novel by the French writer

Jean Genet Jean Genet (; – ) was a French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. In his early life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but he later became a writer and playwright. His major works include the novels ''The Thief's ...

. It was written mostly in 1945 and first published anonymously in 1947, limited to 460 numbered copies, with illustrations by

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the su ...

.White, Edmund. Genet: A Biography. New York: Knopf, 1993, pp. 293, 410-411. It is set in the midst of the port town of

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress *Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria *Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France **Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Brest, ...

, where sailors and the sea are associated with murder.

Georges Querelle Georges "Jo" Querelle () is the protagonist and antihero of Jean Genet's 1947 novel '' Querelle de Brest''. Character overview A sailor on the cargo ship ''Le Vengeur'', Querelle is also a thief, prostitute, opium smuggler, and serial killer. Wh ...

, its protagonist, is a

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

thief, prostitute and

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

who manipulates and kills his lovers for thrills and profit. The novel formed the basis for ''

Querelle ''Querelle'' is a 1982 West German-French English-language arthouse film directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder and starring Brad Davis, adapted from French author Jean Genet's 1947 novel ''Querelle of Brest''. It was Fassbinder's last film, rel ...

'' (1982),

Rainer Werner Fassbinder Rainer Werner Fassbinder (; 31 May 1945 – 10 June 1982), sometimes credited as R. W. Fassbinder, was a German filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the major figures and catalysts of the New German Cinema movement. Fassbinder's main ...

's last film.

References

1947 French novels 1940s LGBT novels Novels by Jean Genet Brest, France Novels set in Brittany Novels about serial killers French LGBT novels French novels adapted into films Novels about French prostitution Novels with bisexual themes {{1940s-crime-novel-stub