A novel of satanic decadence in the tradition of J-K Huysmans, FANTAZIUS MALLARE is the tale of a deranged recluse who declares war on reality. In his world of hallucination and twisted eroticism, Mallare needs a woman to worship him as a god; aided by Goliath, his deformed dwarf servant he entices a submissive gypsy girl whom he strives to enthrall in chains of horror and ecstasy. First published in 1922, FANTAZIUS MALLARE is the second novel by famous American playwright and screenwriter Ben Hecht. The book was suppressed as obscene by the Federal Government on its initial publication, and artist Wallace Smith sent to jail. It is now published in an uncensored edition which includes all 10 original decadent/erotic illustrations by Smith. COUNT FANNY'S NUPTIALS, first published clandestinely in London in 1907, remains one of the most rare and elusive of all decadent texts. Its author "Simon Arrow" is sometimes identified as Ronald Firbank, although it seems more likely that the publisher, G. Hope Johnstone, also created it. This joint edition of FANTAZIUS MALLARE and COUNT FANNY'S NUPTIALS constitutes a volume of rare and unadulterated erotic decadence which stands as the final flourish of the genre.
