Cover images for the three volumes book 'Aline and Valcour', written by Marquise de Sade in 1793 while he was imprisoned in the Bastille. Published by Contra Mundum Press, New York, 2019.
The three volumes book is due on December 2, 2019.
Federico Gori - Sade 01 - ink and enamel on paper - cm 32,34 x 23,5
Federico Gori - Sade 02 - ink and enamel on paper - cm 32,62 x 23,5
Federico Gori - Sade 03 - ink and enamel on paper - cm 33,87 x 23,5
Dear friends & colleagues:
Last year we acquired the first ever translation into English of an epic novel by Marquis de Sade, Aline & Valcour, a work the translators spent over a decade perfecting and for which they received a grant from the NEA in 2011.
Although not sexually explicit, the novel embodies the multiple themes that would become the hallmark of Sade’s far more sulfurous works. Alyson Waters, the managing editor of Yale French Studies, said that Aline & Valcour“will force readers on this side of the Atlantic to re-think everything they've ever learned, heard, or read about the Marquis de Sade.”
The book is forthcoming soon in a beautifully designed edition of 3 paperback volumes with illustrations and endnotes and featuring an original cover image by Federico Gori.
We’re writing today to ask you to consider pre-ordering the book ahead of its official publication date of December 2.
In today’s publishing environment, pre-orders are critical to a book’s survival and success. They alert major & independent booksellers to titles that would otherwise go unnoticed and help determine what books will be reviewed in major media outlets. With a poorly understood yet divisive author like Sade, pre-orders are especially helpful.
For more about the novel and its colorful history (its first publisher was guillotined), you can visit the Contra Mundum website (link to a pdf sample of the bk) for advance praise concerning the translation and extracts from the novel that offer a glimpse of how different it is from Sade’s more sulfurous works, yet how imbued it is with his incisive way of thinking about the world we inhabit today.
An embattled love affair opens the first volume, inciting a tale of mystery and detection that finds counterpoint in the second volume, which propels a young man and woman into unknown regions of the world. The proto-feminist heroine of the third volume is the most surprising of all.
If you wish to pre-order the book, below are links to each individual retailer. Alternatively, you can ask your local bookstore to pre-order copies.
Events for the book are being planned in New York & possibly elsewhere so keep up with us on social media or through our mailing list for updates.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
With gratitude,
Contra Mundum Press
Rainer J. Hanshe
Alessandro Segalini
Giovanna Sguera
Federico Gori
