Count D'Orgel's Ball

“Lovelier than Proust and truer than Balzac….”— Jean Cocteau“Raymond Radiguet’s Count d’Orgel’s Ball is a prototypically French novella: irreducibly classical, ruthlessly analytical, and so thoroughly disabused that it is hard to believe anyone so young could have written it. Never has grace been so curt, or tact so indecent, or psychology so diabolical. And yet, the tragedy of this young author’s death shadows us on each and every page of this unforgivably short novel and reminds us that the word ‘genius’ is not inappropriate.”— André Aciman“Extraordinary assurance of this book…It partakes of the nature of a wager or an acrobatic feat. The achivement is almost perfect.”— André Gide

Raymond Radiguet (1903-1923) was the eldest of seven children born to a poor cartoonist. He left school at fifteen and was soon contributing articles to newspapers and journals in Paris, where he became the protege and lover of Jean Cocteau. Radiguet published poems, criticism, and a play, The Pelican, as well as a highly successful novel, The Devil in the Flesh, while leading a wild and increasingly self-destructive life. He died of typhoid, contracted from eating oysters. The manuscript of his second novel, Count d’Orgel’s Ball, was prepared for posthumous publication by Cocteau.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.