C.D. Warner, et al., comp.
The Library of the World’s Best Literature. An Anthology in Thirty Volumes. 1917.
Joris-Karl Huysmans (1848–1907)
Huysmans, Joris-Karl (ēs-mâ
s’). A French novelist; born in Paris, Feb. 5, 1848; died in 1907. He studied law and entered the French civil service, but abandoned it for literature. At first a pronounced realist, he turned to idealism and even mysticism. He first attracted notice by the story ‘Pack on Back’ (1878). Other works are: ‘Martha’ (1876); ‘The Vatard Sisters’ (1879); ‘The Ménage,’ and others. In ‘A Rebours’ (1884), he forsook realism, following with ‘Down There’ (Là-bas). ‘En Route’ (1895) tells the story of his conversion, continued in ‘La Cathédrale’ (1898). He was an able critic of art. (See Critical and Biographical Introduction).