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Bruges-la-Morte

Author: Georges Rodenbach

Translator: Mike Mitchell, Will Stone   Edited by: Alan Hollinghurst   Cover design: Marie Lane  

Bruges-la-Morte, which first appeared in 1892, concerns the fate of Hugues Viane, a widower who has turned to the melancholy, decaying city of Bruges as the ideal location in which to mourn his wife and as a suitable haven for the narcissistic perambulations of his inexorably disturbed spirit. Bruges, the 'dead city', becomes the image of his dead wife and thus allows him to endure, to manage the unbearable loss by systematically following its mournful labyrinth of streets and canals in a cyclical promenade of reflection and allusion. The story itself centres around Hugues' obsession with a young dancer whom he believes is the double of his beloved wife. The consequent drama leads Hugues onto a plank walk of psychological torment and humiliation, culminating in a deranged murder. This is a poet's novel and is therefore metaphorically dense and visionary in style. It is the ultimate evocation of Rodenbach's lifelong love affair with the enduring mystery and haunting mortuary atmosphere of Bruges.

RRP: £7.99

No. of pages: 166

Publication date: 07.05.2019

Re-print date: 12.11.2020

ISBN numbers:
Paperback
978 1 912868 06 3
Ebook
978 1 907650 20 8

Rights:
Dedalus World English language rights in this translation