''The Rosy Crucifixion'', a trilogy consisting of ''Sexus'', ''Plexus'', and ''Nexus'', is a fictionalized account documenting the six-year period of

Henry Miller Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, social criticism, philosophical ref ...

's life in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

as he falls for his second wife

June June is the sixth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the second of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the third of five months to have a length of less than 31 days. June contains the summer solstice in ...

and struggles to become a writer, leading up to his initial departure for Paris in 1928. The title comes from a sentence near the end of Miller's ''

Tropic of Capricorn The Tropic of Capricorn (or the Southern Tropic) is the circle of latitude that contains the subsolar point at the December (or southern) solstice. It is thus the southernmost latitude where the Sun can be seen directly overhead. It also reac ...

'': "All my Calvaries were rosy crucifixions, pseudo-tragedies to keep the fires of hell burning brightly for the real sinners who are in danger of being forgotten."

''Sexus''

''Sexus'' (1949), the first volume, describes the break-up of Miller's first marriage to Maude as he meets, falls in love with and marries his second wife, the captivating and mysterious dancer Mona (June). All the while, he feels guilty for leaving Maude, and becomes more attracted to her following their divorce. At the beginning of ''Sexus'', Miller is 33 years old. June is at first called Mara, but at the beginning of chapter 8, and for the remainder of the trilogy, her name is changed to Mona. Miller states that this is under the influence of his friend Dr. Kronski, and that the name change accompanied "other, more significant changes." She is one who has changed many details of her life: "her name, her birthplace, her mother, her upbringing, her friends, her tastes, even her desires." The ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' stated, "Miller uses licentious sex scenes to set the stage for his philosophical discussions of self, love, marriage and happiness." Miller said that, in a burst of inspiration one night in 1927, he stayed up all night plotting out ''

'' (1939) and ''The Rosy Crucifixion'' in forty or fifty typewritten pages. He began writing ''Sexus'' in New York in 1942, then set it aside until picking it back up in 1947 while living in

Big Sur Big Sur () is a rugged and mountainous section of the Central Coast of California between Carmel and San Simeon, where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. It is frequently praised for its dramatic scenery. Big Sur ha ...

. Mary V. Dearborn, ''The Happiest Man Alive: A Biography of Henry Miller'', New York:

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...

, 1991, p. 246. It was first put out in Paris as two volumes by

Obelisk Press Obelisk Press was an English-language press based in Paris, founded by British publisher Jack Kahane in 1929. Manchester-born novelist Kahane began the Obelisk Press after his publisher, Grant Richards, went bankrupt. Going into partnership with ...

in 1949. It created a big stir, and was banned the following year, with the publisher fined and given a prison sentence.

''Plexus''

''Plexus'' (1953), the second volume, continues with the story of Miller's marriage to Mona, and covers Miller's attempts to become a writer after leaving his job at the Cosmodemonic Telegraph Company. It was first published in English in 1953 by

Olympia Press Olympia Press was a Paris-based publisher, launched in 1953 by Maurice Girodias as a rebranded version of the Obelisk Press he inherited from his father Jack Kahane. It published a mix of erotic fiction and avant-garde literary fiction, and is bes ...

as a two-volume set.

''Nexus''

In ''Nexus'' (1959), the final installment, Miller finds himself an outsider in his own marriage, as Mona's relationship with Anastasia (Jean Kronski) grows, with the pair finally abandoning Miller to travel to Paris. After Mona's return on her own, the trilogy ends with Miller and his wife departing for Paris. Miller had in mind to write a second volume of ''Nexus'', and made several attempts to complete it. It would have covered his time in France with Mona, their return to New York, and his return to Paris on his own, concluding with him writing the opening lines of ''

Tropic of Cancer The Tropic of Cancer, which is also referred to as the Northern Tropic, is the most northerly circle of latitude on Earth at which the Sun can be directly overhead. This occurs on the June solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward ...

'' at 18 Villa Seurat. He made several attempts to write the book before ultimately abandoning the undertaking. A rough draft of the abandoned novel, ''Paris 1928 (Nexus II)'', an account of his 1928 trip to Paris with Mona, was first published in English in 2012.

Publication

The three books in the trilogy were initially banned in the United States, published only in France and Japan. Their American publication followed the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

's 1964 decision that the also-banned ''

'' was a work of literature and therefore should not be banned. Miller was concerned about the publication of ''Sexus'' in the US. He felt that it was possible that his ex-wife Beatrice, the model for Maude, would bring a lawsuit for her portrayal in the novel. Despite Miller's reservations, all three volumes of ''The Rosy Crucifixion'' were published by

Grove Press Grove Press is an United States of America, American Imprint (trade name), publishing imprint that was founded in 1947. Imprints include: Black Cat, Evergreen, Venus Library, and Zebra. Barney Rosset purchased the company in 1951 and turned it in ...

in the US in the summer of 1965. They soon were holding the top spots on the ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' best-seller list along with two more of Miller's books, the recently unbanned ''The World of Sex'' and '' Quiet Days in Clichy''.Henry Miller, Preface to ''

Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch ''Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch'' is a memoir written by Henry Miller, first published in 1957, about his life in Big Sur, California, where he resided for 18 years. History Background In 1939, Miller left France for Greece, where ...

'', New York: New Directions, 1957, p. ix.

Criticism

Miller's close friend, author

Lawrence Durrell Lawrence George Durrell (; 27 February 1912 – 7 November 1990) was an expatriate British novelist, poet, dramatist, and travel writer. He was the eldest brother of naturalist and writer Gerald Durrell. Born in India to British colonial pare ...

, was severely disappointed in ''Sexus''. In a letter dated September 5, 1949, he wrote that Miller was lost "in this shower of lavatory filth which no longer seems tonic and bracing, but just excrementitious and sad."

George Brassaï George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd President ...

, ''Henry Miller: The Paris Years'', New York:

Arcade Publishing Arcade Publishing is an independent trade publishing company that started in 1988 in New York, USA. It publishes American and world fiction and nonfiction. The company was started and run by Richard Seaver and his wife Jeannette.Weber, Bruce (Ja ...

, 1975 (translation copyright 1995), pp. 203–4. "I am trying to reproduce in words a block of my life which to me has the utmost significance – every bit of it," Miller responded. "Since 1927 I have carried inside me the material of this book. Do you suppose it's possible that I could have a miscarriage after such a period of gestation? ... But Larry, I can never go back on what I've written. If it was not good, it was true; if it was not artistic, it was sincere; if it was in bad taste, it was on the side of life."

References