Description
Huxley, Aldous. The Devils of Loudun (Harper & Brothers: New York, 1052) – Stated First Edition.
340 pages, bibliography, index. Hardbound. Navy cloth-covered boards with decorative spine. Blind stamp on lower right corner of front board. Deckle-edged textblock. DJ not price clipped.
Condition: Very Good in good dj. Hinges and binding solid. No markings on textblock. No ownership markings present. Spine is square with slight bumping to ends and minor gilding loss to top of spine. DJ shows moderate edge wear and paper loss especially near spine. DJ has been placed in a Brodart for protection.
“The Devils of Loudun is a 1952 non-fiction novel by Aldous Huxley. It is a historical narrative of supposed demonic possession, religious fanaticism, sexual repression, and mass hysteria that occurred in seventeenth-century France surrounding unexplained events that took place in the small town of Loudun. It centers on Roman Catholic priest Urbain Grandier and an entire convent of Ursuline nuns, who allegedly became possessed by demons after Grandier made a pact with Satan. The events led to several public exorcisms as well as executions by burning.
“The story was adapted into a stage play in 1960, which was then adapted into the controversial 1971 Ken Russell film The Devils, which starred Vanessa Redgrave and Oliver Reed. There is also an opera based on the play, Die Teufel von Loudun, by Krzysztof Penderecki, available on DVD. The book, though lesser known than Huxley’s other novels (such as Brave New World), is widely considered one of his best works.” – Wikipedia
