Cuturethèque's Masters of Seduction
Courtesy of Kate Ter Haar on Flickr: https://flic.kr/p/dRpekF
Cyrano de Bergerac
Edmond Rostand
To all who have pined helplessly on Valentine's day - for fear that their looks did not match their passion (or panache) - spare a thought for poor old Cyrano who was endowed with all the gifts of oration, penmanship and duelling ability in addition to a farcically large nose.
Worse still, Roxane is typically won over by the good looking and brave, all-style-and-no-substance cadet Christian de Neuvillette, the latter who enlists his help to seduce Roxane in his name. Can the truth of Cyrano's words transcend his doubts about his physical appearance? Or must he resign himself to lie in the bed he has made for "just friends"?
Courtesy of protvscar on DeviantArt: http://fav.me/djqzjm
La Philosophie dans le Boudoir
Marquis de Sade
If the sexual frissons of the 50 Shades of Grey franchise shocked you to your core in 2016, you may wish to consider graduating to the late 18th century plays of the Marquis de Sade.
Written at a time when sodomy was illegal and punishable by death in France, de Sade was famed for his libertine sexuality (his characters were often bisexual) and best remembered for his erotic works which combined pornography and philosophical discourse.
Mademoiselle de Maupin
GautierThéophile
Catherine Spaak dressed as a boy in the 1966 film inspired by Gautier's novel. Madamigella di Maupin (Mauro Bolognini).
Think Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare but where sexual mistaken identities and cross-dressing lead to a more compelling love triangle between Orsino and Olivia.
In this novel (originally commisioned as a historical romance based on the life of French opera star Mlle Maupin) the author of Le Roman de la Momie also has a poke at Romantc writers, embodied by his main character le Chevalier d'Albert, who after getting involved with the beautiful Rosette to ease his boredom, falls for the breath-taking Théodore, whom inspires in him passions he never believed he could feel for a man.
La Dame aux Camélias
Alexandre Dumas (fils)
It's a great feeling when a relationship that you felt uneasy about being open unexpectedly, but consensually, becomes exclusive.
You've overcome all the intial pitfalls, you've done a home run. (*Fistpump*).
Except of course if your better half is a courtesan. Then you may face one or more challenges still ahead.
Marguerite, who is nicknamed the lady of the camellias because of her tendency to wear a white camelia when she is available to her lovers (clearly an important exponent of 'Traffic light parties') is ultimately seduced by Alexandre... I mean "Armand" Duval who whisks her away to live out their dreams of an idyllic life in the countryside. Their romance is seductive, troubling and extremely fragile and all the more touching because it does not conform to the morals of the time.
Amours sur mesure
Mathieu Bermann
The course of love is neither completely smooth or rough. It is more varied. This is the lesson of Mathieu Bermann. I think.
I sort of agree. In my experience it can puncture your tyres at any given moment and leave you in complete suspense along the M6 (or A10 in France if you prefer).
I confess I'm not exactly sure where this analogy is leading.
But neither exactly does the narrator of Amours sur mesure. The title evokes a world for the modern libertine, where one can explore one sexual enterprise to the next in order to find the best fit or simply to experience different states of 'love'.
The title is an interesting choice by Bermann who unpacks 'love' as an absolute term and asks us how one verb can be used to define different realities. The narrator wonders whether he should embrace all forms; should he hook up with Valentin despite being steady with Lisa for ages, what about the boy whose name he doesn't know and others besides.