Frederick Rolfe, a.k.a. Baron Corvo, though best known for his novel HADRIAN THE SEVENTH (1904) and his eccentric personality, was also a master of the short story, which found expression in odd pseudo-biographical pieces and fictions that expressed his own unique sense of style. The present collection contains seven of Rolfe’s best short prose works: three Venetian narratives written toward the end of his life, two tales featuring the Princess of Cinthyanum, and two other peculiar tales, the first of which, "The Tattooed Wedding Ring", must certainly be seen as an early example of experimental fiction. Previously confined to hard-to-find limited editions, these stories are here available for the first time to a broader public.
CONTENTS
Introduction / Jason Rolfe
1. An Ossuary of the North Lagoon
2. On Cascading into the Canal
3. Venetian Courtesy
4. The Tattooed Wedding Ring
5. The Armed Hands
6. The Princess's Shirts
7. Deinon to Thely
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Published simultaneously in hardcover