Joris-Karl Huysmans

Joris-Karl Huysmans (1848–1907) was a French novelist and art critic who was one of the founders of the decadent movement in France. His most famous work, Against Nature (A rebours), was a seminal novel of this movement. He also wrote novels in the naturalist tradition of Émile Zola—including Marthe, Histoire d’une fille; Les soeurs Vatard; and En menage—and poetry inspired by Baudelaire’s work.

Theo Cuffe is known for his translations of classic French literature, including Voltaire’s Candide and Micromégas and Other Short Fictions.

Lucy Sante is a writer, critic, translator, and artist. She is a frequent contributor to The New York Review of Books. Her books include Low Life and The Other Paris. Originally from Belgium, she now lives in New York and teaches writing and the history of photography at Bard College.