Les liaisons dangereuses, de Cholderlos de Laclos

In this special collector’s edition of the French classic Les Liaisons Dangereuses, the Marquise de Merteuil and her accomplished rival in the art of erotic and psychological manipulation, the Vicomte de Valmont, take the stage again in Ernest Dowson’s beautifully polished translation of the book which, as Baudelaire famously said, “Burns like ice.”In this new edition of the once infamous novel, the elegance of Dowson’s translation is stylishly complemented by the elegant, coolly erotic etchings of Sylvain Sauvage, originally executed by that distinguished French illustrator for a deluxe edition published in Paris in 1930. Sauvage’s artful renditions of scenes from the novel provide an elegant accompaniment for the darkly glittering luxury and decadence of le beau monde portrayed by de Laclos.