by Violette Leduc (Author), Derek Coltman (Translator), Simone de Beauvoir (Foreword by)
An obsessive and revealing self-portrait of a remarkable woman humiliated by the circumstances of her birth and by her physical appearance, La Bâtarde relates Violette Leduc's long search for her own identity through a series of agonizing and passionate love affairs with both men and women. When first published, La Bâtarde earned Violette Leduc comparisons to Jean Genet for the frank depiction of her sexual escapades and immoral behavior. A confession that contains portraits of several famous French authors, this book is more than just a scintillating memoir-like that of Henry Miller, Leduc's brilliant writing style and attention to language transform this autobiography into a work of art.
Author Biography
The illigitimate daughter of a servant girl, Violette Leduc started writing at the urging of Maurice Sachs and Simone de Beauvoir. Her first novel ("In the Prison of Her Skin") was published by Albert Camus for ?ditions Gallimard and earned her praise from Jean-Paul Sartre, Jean Cocteau, and Jean Genet. She went on to write eight more books, including "Ravages," "L'Affam?e," and "Mad in Pursuit," the second part of her literary autobiography.